Fullmetal Evangelion
by SimmyC
Summary: FMAxEva crossover. What happens when Elric brothers, and a number of military soldiers are sent into the Evangelion world. Chapter 13 is up! Chapter 7 has been revised.
1. Brave New World

Fullmetal Evangelion

Evangelion/Fullmetal Alchemist Crossover

I have gone insane. I ALREADY have plenty of stories needing an update. It is also a time when I have very little time to write these updates. And what do I do? I start a new one? Nuts.

Anyways, this is my attempt to combine these two universes. Why? Why not? Hehehe. Oh, and it's also my first NON-Teen Titans crossover fic. Finally, two REAL anime series that I'm crossing over with (note, I still think Teen Titans is great fun series. Just that, I also know that it isn't real anime)!

At the moment, this story is chapter by chapter. Most of my stories have a definite beginning, and a definite ending. Just the middle is iffy. This is usually true even for my more silly stories. The only exception, other then this story, was Silent Titan (although now, the ending is becoming pretty clear). The reason why this particular story is chapter by chapter was simply the fact that it just spontaneously popped into my head. BTW, it was partially influenced by the story, "Cyborg and Alchemy", by Apparition7 in the Ghost in the Shell story section. An FMA/GitS: SAC story. Pretty good story overall (just needs a little more details for it to be truly great). Check it out if you are fan of FMA and GitS: SAC.

Oh yeah, and if all goes well, this story will follow my other Eva fic in that it will be proofread before I put it up. That does NOT guarantee that all grammatical and spelling errors will be caught, but it should be more polished then my other stories where I don't do this step before putting it up.

And for those who criticize (valid criticism) that my other Eva story was too unoriginal (at least in the beginning), this story shouldn't have that problem (the other story attempts to, in essence, retell the Evangelion story with a few SMALL changes early on here and there so that it can be an original story later. In this story, well, we have the FMA cast joining Evangelion. Big difference)!

This story starts in the FMA universe, and them moves to the Evangelion universe.

Standard Disclaimer: I own neither the Fullmetal Alchemist series, the future movie, and the manga, nor Evangelion series, movies, and manga. All characters from those series that appear in this story are not mine. I am doing this out of fun. If asked, I will take down these stories without hesitation.

There's no real spoiler's for either series. Except the FMA part takes place before Hughes was killed. And the Evangelion part takes place during the first episode (though unlike my other story, it won't be a near novelization of it for obvious reasons).

Without further ado, on with the story!

* * *

Southern Vale - Amestris

Southern Vale was a town 80 km west of Central. It was a peaceful town where many people come from all over Amestris to get away from their mundane life in the city. Everyone was friendly and kind.

But on this particular day, fear and terror came to this small town.

"Take that you sons of bitches!" A man grabs a number of black roses and, with the help of an array on the ground, he made the vines grow and shoot themselves towards a little man, who's easily offended when reminded about his…height problem.

"Look out brother!" Al's eyes filled with concern as he watched Ed jump from side to side, avoiding the attacks of the so-called 'Black Rose Alchemist'.

Ed rolled from side to side avoiding the shoots of massive rose vines crashing beside him. "Don't worry Al. I can handle him just fine. Just stay back Al. I don't want you getting involved in this." Ed clasped his hands and turned his right arm into a sword. He slashed a number of incoming rose vines before they exploded.

The military wanted to contain the Black Rose Alchemist when he turned against him. A veteran of the war with Ishbal, the white haired man, scarred with a long slash on his very wrinkled right cheek, laughed methodically at Ed. "Soon, you will all pay! You will all pay for you crimes against me! Muahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Before he went insane, he was one of the military's most decorated soldiers. After he broke out of prison, he began taking his revenge against the military. Every alchemist he could find, he slaughtered them.

Ed continues to sprint towards Black Rose. He leans to the side as a vine shoots by him. He jumps and pushes himself off of one vine, then another. He does this seconds before Black Rose causes them to explode. Ed gets closer and closer. Determination fills his eyes and he tries to end this madman's reign. Just as he gets close to see Black Rose sweat, a fury of vines rocketing up from the ground sends Ed back. Ed crashed to the ground, skidding to a halt just a few feet away.

"Brother!" Al took a few steps towards Ed when a vine slammed into his armor body.

"Al! Stay back!" Ed screamed back.

"So, this is your brother?" Black Rose grinned with excitement. "Oh this is too good! Prepare to watch your loved ones die like I have State Alchemist!" The vines started to squeeze Al.

"Let him go!" Ed struggled to get up. He forced himself to stand up. He couldn't bear to lose his brother. Not like this. Not after everything they have been through.

"Make me!" Black Rose snickered. He makes the vines squeeze even harder.

Ed closed his fist as he stared down Black Rose. "I will." He sprints towards Black Rose. Everything seemed to slow down as he again gets closer and closer to Black Rose. This time, it seemed that he would finally be able to bring him down. That is, until…

A rush of fire consumed the area.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ed stopped dead in his tracks as he feels the heat from the fire.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Black Rose screamed as fire consumed him, and his rose vines. Black Rose tried to get away from the fire, which seemed to be everywhere. The fire burns through the vines that held Al. The charred remains of the vines collapse as Al falls to the ground.

After the fire around him subsides, Ed didn't move from his half running pose. He was completely blackened from head to toe. After a few moments of being stuck in that pose, he finally falls to the ground with a thud.

Al checked himself out, seeing that he didn't have any major damages, he got up from his position and jogged a bit to where Ed was. "Brother!" Al helped Ed into a sitting position.

'Only one man could do that.' Ed thought. As he looked up from his position, his assumption was verified. "Colonel Mustang."

Riza kicked the charred Black Rose to the ground. She holds her gun out as Armstrong came up from behind and locked Black Rose's arms in restraints.

Roy grinned as he sees that Ed has recovered from his attack. He took a few steps towards Ed. "Fullmetal. Good thing I was here or you might be dead by now."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "Oh shut up! I had him under my thumb until YOU showed up!" Ed spat at Roy.

Roy shook his head a little. "You should be thanking me for saving you and your brother."

Ed growled. "I had everything under control. Besides, I WAS IN MORE DANGER FROM YOU! Your stupid fire nearly burned me to death!"

Roy brushed off the criticism. "Hey! If you simply watched where you were going instead of rushing into things, you wouldn't have been burned."

"What a load of bull." Ed retorted. "Besides, I didn't know that you would be here. And speaking of which…why are you here?"

Roy's face turned serious. "What do you think Fullmetal?" Roy began. "I'm here to make sure Black Rose is caught. He's been terrorizing civilians and military personal alike. We can't allow that now can we? A better question to ask would be why you are here? While I appreciate your help in catching Black Rose…even though it was I that did it." Roy watched Ed growled who seemed to be ready to attack him. "Your orders weren't to bring in Black Rose."

Ed sighed. While he hated being the military's lapdog, and on occasion, tries to, at least bend the rules a bit, he still had to follow orders. He knew he had to do it when he joined the military in the search for the Philosopher Stone that would restore Al's body and his missing arm and leg back. Still didn't like though. Although Roy allowed him a bit of freedom when it came to the search of the Philosopher's Stone, he still had to follow whatever order Roy gives first. Why he was in Southern Vale though did have to do with the Philosopher's Stone. "We got word that a group of people in this town was working on a Philosopher Stone. Meeting Black Rose was just a coincidence."

"I see." Roy rubbed his chin. "Although Fullmetal, I don't believe meeting Black Rose here was a coincidence." He turned back as a man that exited the shadows of the alleyway. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, have you found any of Black Rose's accomplishes?"

Hughes walked up behind Roy. "Nope. We're still looking for them."

"Hughes." Ed waves at him. "Fancy seeing you here."

Hughes grinned. "Yup. We're pretty serious about this mess."

Ed smile however, started to frown as he remembered what Roy said. "What do mean by accomplishes?"

Roy turned his attention back to Ed. "Did you really think Black Rose got out of prison all by himself?"

Meanwhile, Armstrong slammed his foot on Black Rose's back. "You're going back to prison where you belong Black Rose."

Black Rose grinned. "You're all too late."

Riza held the gun to his head. "Too late? Too late for what?"

The ground started rumbling.

"Brother? What's going on?" Al looked fearful as everything around them started to shake.

Roy face turned serious. 'It must be Black Rose's accomplishes. And if the rumors Ed heard are true…'

Armstrong and Riza also looked up when the rumbling began.

Black Rose laughed methodically.

His laughter was getting on Riza's nerves. "SHUT UP!" Riza slapped Black Rose to the ground.

Suddenly, glowing lights appeared under them.

Ed looked down in complete surprise. "You have got to be kidding me."

Inside one of the Buildings

Inside one of the buildings, a group of men, all dressed up in robes, all had their hands on the array in the center of the floor.

Outside

Men, women and children screamed as they all tried to look for shelter as buildings started to crack and collapse from the continued shaking of the ground.

Black Rose, still on the ground continued to laugh. "We're going to make the Philosopher Stone, in exchange for this entire town and everyone in it!"

Ed's eyes widened. "You're insane!" He began running towards the center of the town. "I have to stop this before it's too late!"

"Brother! I'm coming with you." Al followed Ed as they headed towards the source of earthquakes.

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Those two boys are going to need all the help they can get." He started chasing after the Elric brothers.

'Black Rose isn't the only one insane here. Even if they somehow succeed…' Hughes frowned. "Right behind you Colonel."

Riza frowned as quake continued to worsen. 'The Colonel and the Elric brothers are going to need all the help they can get.' "Armstrong! Watch Black Rose for me. I'm going to make sure the Colonel and the others don't get in over their heads."

Armstrong slammed his foot down on the grinning Black Rose. "With pleasure." Buildings around them started to crumble. Rubble from a building falls from the sky. Armstrong, without looking up, slammed his fist into the rubble. Reddish electricity shoots from his hand and the rubble explodes into tiny pieces mostly harmless pieces.

Ed reached the building where the apparent alchemist was attempting to construct the Philosopher's Stone. He reaches the door that was sealed shut. "Think this is going to stop me?" Ed clasped his hands and then placed them on the door. In an instant, the doors disappear. Right when that happened though, a lightning bolt shot towards Edward. He rolled to the left, avoiding the bolt.

Roy rolled to the right, as he was next in line of the bolt. Upon seeing an opening, he snaps his fingers causing a spark. With the help of alchemy, he turns this spark into a semi-controllable flame (with the array in his gloves, he was able to take the oxygen surrounding the area to expand the and control the flame). The flame whipped into the building. However, when it approached the six inhabitants inside the building, the flame simply went around them. Roy gritted his teeth. 'Damn! They're somehow deflecting my attacks.'

Al stopped and looked up at the building. The buildings around them started to dissolve as they are being used to make the Philosopher's Stone. However, assuming Marco was correct, it takes more then just a few buildings to create the Philosopher's Stone. In fact… Al sees another lightning shoot at from the building. This time, it hits an innocent bystander. "No!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man screams as his body dissolves.

Ed saw this. His eyes widened in horror. He began to grit his teeth. "We have to stop this now before anyone else is killed!" Ed forced out. He turned back to the building.

_**-Meanwhile…**_

"Soon! We will have the power of the Philosopher's Stone! The military will not stand a chance!" Black Rose ranted through his maniacal laugh.

"I said quiet!" Armstrong kicked him in the stomach. "You will not suc…" As he was saying this…

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…" Black Rose contorted as a wayward lightning bolt hits him. His body started to disappear.

A stunned Armstrong falls back. The shaking continued to grow more intense by the minute. 'So much for him. He obviously didn't live to see this maniac plan come to fruition.' With Black Rose gone, and the situation getting worse and worse, it was clear that he couldn't stay here. Yet, he couldn't just abandon the others. 'I have to go and help the others. I must help put an end to this.'

_**-Meanwhile…outside of the building…**_

Riza was shooting many rounds of bullets while Hughes throws his knives into the building. Some sort of field deflected each of Riza's bullets, and each of Hughes' knives. From Riza's understanding, it was probably an alchemist manipulating the air inside, creating a cyclone that was strong enough to prevent fire, bullets, knives, whatever from interfering with their plans. It didn't help matters much that the lightning bolts were becoming more frequent with each passing second. It was becoming harder and harder to avoid them.

Ed clasped his hands again. This time, he brought it down to the ground and created a rocky wall in the hopes of at least stopping the lightning bolts as they try to advance closer to the building. However, the bolt was so strong that it ripped through his rocky wall, forcing Ed to roll away again.

Al tried to make an array on the ground. However, he stopped when a lightning bolt came straight towards him. He dropped and rolled to the side before the bolt hit him.

Armstrong ran into the area. He ducks as one of the lightning bolt shoots near him.

Riza looked back for a moment and sees Armstrong. "Armstrong! I thought I told you to look over Black Rose!"

"I was!" Armstrong picked up and rock and punches it, with his combined physical strength and alchemy, he creates an electrical wave that slams into the building. "But one of those bolts got to him."

"Hmph." Riza sounded. "Got what he deserves then."

Ed looked around him. The ground started to crack and was glowing an ominous red. "Damn it! So this is where the red water is. The underground aquifers." He started sprinting again. Jumping from side to side in order to avoid the lightning bolts. "We have to make this quick!"

Inside one of the Buildings

"We're doing it!" One of the robed men said in excitement. "We're finally doing it!"

The apparently leader, whose robe was a little flashier then the others grinned. The hood of his robe obscured his face. Only his mouth was showing "Soon, the Philosopher's Stone will be ours!"

Suddenly, a blinding flash occurred.

This shocked the leader. "What? This isn't supposed to be happening! No…NOOOOO!"

Outside

Ed and the others stopped in their tracks as a blinding light consumed the area.

"Brother! What does this mean?" Al had to cover his eyes as the blinding light was getting more intense.

"This is not good!" Ed yelled.

"You're telling me." Roy brought his arm over his eyes.

Armstrong, Hughes, and Riza simply gasped and covered their eyes. They all seemed to be drawn into it.

_**-Meanwhile…in another Universe…**_

Tokyo 3 - Japan

Shinji Ikari was at a pay phone. He was listening to the broadcast telling him that due to the state of emergency, all lines have been cut. When he replaced the phone on the receiver, he sighed. "It's no use. I shouldn't have come here after all." Shinji was about to take a picture of Misato out, when a blinding light next him distracted him. "Huh? What the?" Shinji covered his eyes as the blinding light became too intense. Once it subsided, he sees in front of him were a group of people, and a suit of armor that seemingly popped out of nowhere. Shinji simply stared, completely wide eyed and dumbfounded at the scene in front of him.

In front of Shinji was a short man, wearing a red jacket over black clothes. Standing next to him was a suit of armor that appeared to be something that belonged in some museum in Europe, those that survived the Second Impact obviously. Standing next to both of them was a group of four people who seemed to be wearing outdated blue military uniforms. One was tall, mostly bald with a small curl of hair above his forehead, and had a blond mustache. It was obvious that he worked out a bit due to his big muscled appearance. Next to him was a man, slightly shorter, black medium cut hair, and held a serious look. Next to him was another black haired man, this time wearing glasses, and a few stubbles on his chin. And next to him was a blond woman who had long hair that was bound up in the back to make it look shorter. Shinji was pretty certain that they weren't there a few seconds ago. And they certainly look out of place in modern day Japan.

Edward Elric was still covering his eyes when he came to. He blinked as the world around him came back into focus. "What, what just happened?"

Al was the next to respond. "We're…not dead?"

Ed was still trying to figure out where they were, and what happened. "No Al. But I don't think we're in Southern Vale anymore."

Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong scanned the area as they came to.

Armstrong was the next to respond. "I don't think we're in Amestris either. Look at the signs."

The group did just that. That's when they realized the funny symbols on the signs.

Al stared at the signs in amazement. It was obviously not the language that he was familiar with. At least, he thought he didn't recognize it. "What language is that?"

"It's Japanese." Roy responded.

"You know the language Colonel?" Riza asked.

Roy blinked. "Ye…yeah." He continued to blink in amazement. "But, I don't know how I know that or why."

Hughes continued to stare at the sign. "That's funny. I feel like I can read that sign…"

Ed then tapped his foot on the ground. "What are these streets made out of?" He took a closer look. They seemed to be made out of a rocky substance. That he knows for sure. But how did they make it? It seemed to be so uniform, like it was poured there, then allowed to set. Like dried mud in a why, except with fewer cracks. His first assumption would be alchemy. His guess was that someone was able to get, whatever this kind of rock into a liquid like state, and then used alchemy again to harden it. But that process sounded tedious to Ed. Not to mention pretty expensive in that there probably aren't that many alchemist in the construction business to cover kilometers upon kilometers of road with this smooth surface. Most of the cities he had been to, either left their roads as dirt, or bricked them since bricking them doesn't require the need of an alchemist.

Hughes also looked up and noticed a lot of lines going from building to building. He assumed that they were telephone lines but…why so many? "It seems that everyone here has access to the telephone." While telephones are not necessarily rare in Amestris, they weren't this prevalent either.

Shinji continued to stare in amazement at this strange group of people.

Ed finally notices Shinji standing near them. "Oh hello there! Hehehe…" He waved at him.

Shinji was startled as one of the members of this strange group acknowledged his presence. "Uh, konichiwa?" (hello) Shinji weakly waved at Ed.

'Great. It must that strange language Roy was talking about. Japanese?' Suddenly, Ed blinked in realization. 'Wait, I know what he said.' "Konichiwa! Watashi wa Edward Elric desu!" (Hello! My name is Ed.)

"Ano…" The shy boy replied back. "Watashi wa…Shinji Ikari desu."

(AN: This is as far as I'm going with the Japanese. I'm also aware that in Japan, it is last or family names first, and then the first name. Usually. But hey, since I'm not going to bother with Japanese for the rest of the fic, I'm not going to care about that)

Al, Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong's mouths dropped to the floor. Not only did Ed understand what Shinji said, he was also speaking the same language.

Suddenly, Al then realized something else. "I know what they were saying."

"Me too." Riza replied.

"Not only did that blinding light send us to this strange world," Hughes began. "It also must've enabled us to speak their language."

Edward smiled at the boy. "So, where exactly are we?"

Shinji blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, um…" Ed scratched the back of his head. "What city are we in? Country? Year? That sort of thing."

Shinji continued to blink in amazement. "You don't know? Then how did you get here?"

Roy stepped into the discussion. "We're…trying to figure that out too."

Al thought he heard something strange behind him. It sounded like, maybe a battle was going on. He turned back when…

**BOOM!**

This caught everyone by surprise including Shinji. The group covered their ears as the wires and windows started shaking, and metal shutters resonated from the blast.

Ed waited a bit as the sound subsided. He unplugged his ears and looked around the area. "What the heck was that?"

Al hears the rumble of something behind him. As he turns back, he finally sees the thing that caused that boom. "Brother! Look!"

The group all turned to where the sound came from. At first they see something floating in the air. It was, some sort of flying vehicle.

"Machines can do that?" Armstrong was amazed. In all his life, he has never seen a vehicle that can fly.

However…that wasn't the only thing they saw.

The flying machines were shooting some sort of projectile weapons. Bullets? No, there were a little bigger then just bullets. Whatever they were, they were causing some kind of explosion on something. In fact, they seemed to be deflecting off of it, and hitting nearby buildings.

That something was a massively huge walking monster.

Al's eyes were wide in amazement and fear. "Brother, that thing…that thing…"

Roy was speechless. "What in the world…"

Ed was also trying to comprehend what it was. "Its…its…its huge!"

**BOOM!**

One of the flying machines came crashing down at them.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The group, minus Shinji who was too scared to scream, watched as inches away from them, the flying machine, that Shinji knew as UN Fighter, crashes and explodes in front of them. They all ducked out of the way when the pieces came close to them.

Right behind them, a blue sports car comes to a screeching halt. Inside the sports car, Misato was stunned at the group standing next to her target, Shinji Ikari. "What the?" Misato was completely stunned. Shinji was not alone as she expected. Instead, he was near a group of people in funny looking clothes. One was even in a suit of armor. Misato opened the door. "Shinji…what…" She then turned her attention to the strange group of people standing next to him. "What are you guys doing out there? And why the heck is that guy wearing a suit of armor? You're not trying to fight off the Angel in that do you?"

"Uh…" Al started. He wasn't sure how to answer that. If he could be sweat, he would be doing that right now.

Shinji waved at Misato. "Um, you must be Miss Misato…"

Roy blinked. Whoever this woman was, she was a babe. "Well hello there…"

Misato frowned. "I don't have time for this. Get to a shelter immediately! And Shinji, GET IN!"

Riza frowned at Roy whose eyes seemed to be glazed over right now. "We will, ma'am! If you tell us where the shelter is, we would be…"

Tons of debris started falling around them. Huge massive debris. Since her escape was slightly delayed with the talk, Misato, and Shinji's life was now in grave danger.

"Shit!" Misato yelled. She grabbed Shinji and pulled him in. She hoped that maybe, just maybe, that they had just enough time to avoid the debris. However, in a blink of an eye, something amazing happened that would forever change her plans.

Ed clasped his hands placed them on the floor. Electricity covered the area and soon, the debris that was falling over the area, turned into flower petals.

Misato blinked in amazement. 'What did he just do?' Not only did he save their lives, he also turned that debris into…flower petals? How the heck did he do that? 'Ritsuko will want to see this!' Since the danger was momentarily subsided, she decided to call out to him. "Hey you! What the heck did you do?"

The wind blows Ed's ponytail to the side. "Just a little…"

Misato sees the Angel approach. "Nevermind. I'll ask you later. Just get in. And hurry! That Angel is coming!"

"Angel?" Hughes was confused with Misato's terminology. "She doesn't mean that monster does she?"

"But what about us?" Al yelled back. "I'm not going to leave my big brother!"

'Big?' Misato looked at the armored man, and the shrimp. 'What happened to him? Got the bad genes or something?' Misato looked at the group. Although she doubt that they were all family, she still assumes that they are somehow all in this together, and would probably die together too. Or not. Still, at the moment, she didn't have time to discuss this. In a few moments, the Angel will be on them and they would be as good as dead. "Fine! Everyone inside the car!"

The group all stared at the small car. "Um…"

"Do you WANT to stay out here with that?" Misato points to the fast approaching Angel. "Now get in!"

_**-Later…**_

Highway

"OW!" Ed's face was being pressed to the side window on Misato's side. "Can you move a little Colonel?"

Al, Riza, and Armstrong were sitting in the back seat, at least, as best as they can. Al and Armstrong were crushing Riza who was in the middle seat. However, at least she had a seat. In front of them were Hughes, Roy, and Ed that were tangled up in front of them.

"Not exactly Fullmetal." Roy struggled to talk, as Hughes' elbow was right against his face. "Besides, just be glad you weren't taller or it would be really crammed back here."

Ed's eyes flash with rage. "Are you calling me short?" Ed was moving all over the place, making it even worse for Hughes and Roy. "I'll show you short!" The back was bouncing up and down a bit.

"Oof! Ow! Calm down Ed." Hughes was currently useless against Ed's mini-attacks. "I'm sure the Colonel didn't mean it in that way. And please, could you stop?"

Misato was also being slightly banged around a bit. Although she was glad she wasn't in the back with them. 'So, the shrimp has issues with his height. Hey! Not my problem we couldn't have the best genes in the world. Also, why was he the one with the nickname Fullmetal. I assume it's a nickname; I don't think anyone would call their kid that. If anyone should have that name, it's armor guy back there!'

"Brother! Please calm down." Al tried to reassure him. "I'm sure Roy didn't mean it in that way."

Shinji looked back at the crammed group. He was amazed that they could all fit back there and in such a small amount of time. The Angel would've crushed them if they were a few seconds too late. 'I guess anything is possible with your life on the line.'

Misato sighed. "Excuse me for not having a bigger car. I wasn't exactly planning on picking you guys up. And you know, if armor guy had taken that thing off, you might have had a little more space back there."

Al, Ed, Roy, Riza, Armstrong, and Hughes looked every which way as they all couldn't figure out how to answer that statement. "Uhhhh…well…you see…"

"Al here has a skin disease." Hughes unconvincingly replied. "Yeah! That's it."

"Yeah!" Ed chimed in. "If he took it off, he'll die! So, we can't have that!"

Misato wasn't convinced, but hey, if they wanted armor guy to stay in that suit, she couldn't stop them.

Suddenly, Ed felt something in his left hand. "Hey, what's this?" He started squeezing it out of curiosity.

"Edward…" Riza got an elbow free and elbowed Ed to the window.

"Ow!" Ed's face was further crushed into the window. Anymore, he probably would crash right through it. "It was an accident! If I knew…OW!" Riza hit him again. "What was that for?"

"What was that for? You did it again Ed!" Riza frowned after being violated.

"That wasn't me this time I swear!" Ed defended.

Riza icy glare turned to a certain Colonel. "Colonel…" **BAM!**

"Ow! It was an accident!" Colonel weakly replied.

"Sure it was Colonel." Riza continued to glare at Roy.

Misato chuckled a bit.

Armstrong sighed. He dared not move from his position since they was absolutely no space to move. As he looked out of the small opening to the left of him, he did see the landscape pass by him. He was a little surprised at the speed that they were traveling. "We're going pretty fast."

Misato raised an eyebrow. "Um, I'm only going about 130 kilometers per hour. Haven't you seen a car before?"

"Yeah." Armstrong replied. Although he never heard it called a car, he has seen this vehicle before. "But never going this fast."

Misato smiled in embarrassment. "Well…I am going a little faster then the speed limit, but still, this speed shouldn't be that unusual."

Armstrong was still amazed. While there were automobiles in Amestris, none that he was aware of could go this fast. After awhile of admiring the speed that they were going in this automobile, he then noticed the little flying machines hovering, what he assumed to be the monster.

Misato also noticed the UN Fighters hovering around the Angel. Since they were far away from it, she assumed it was safe to at least, see what it and the UN Fighters were doing at the moment. Misato slammed on the breaks.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" **BAM! **Ed crashed into Misato's seat.

Roy and Hughes were dislodged a bit from their positions as well. They pinned Misato and Shinji in their seats.

Misato's head was resting on the steering wheel. "Last time I'm doing that!" She struggled a bit to get the seat back right up.

Shinji was a bit dazed after having his face bashed into the panel. "Uhhhhhhh…"

Misato turned back to the group. "We can rest here a bit. Then we can figure out the seating arrangements before we head into NERV headquarters."

While he was glad he could stretch out his legs a bit, he groaned at the thought of doing it all over again when this little rest stop ended.

The Elric brothers, Roy, Hughes, Riza, and Armstrong piled out of the car. Misato righted both seats and checked to see if Shinji was okay. She then got out her binoculars and checked the area where the Angel was at to see what it and the UN Fighters were doing.

Hughes stretched his arms behind him. "It's nice to be able to move around!"

Roy however, had something else on his mind. Well, besides his 'feel' of his Lieutenant. Roy took a quick glance towards Riza. He quickly turned away when he catches her ice-cold murderous glaze. Anyways… "Say…ummmm…"

"If you want to be formal, you could call me Captain Katsuragi. Otherwise, Misato is fine." Misato answered without looking away binoculars.

"Captain huh?" Roy replied. 'So, she's in the military of this nation?' "By the way, where exactly are we going?"

"Hmmmmm." Misato thought whether or not he should tell him. 'After all, NERV was a secret organization under the direct control of the UN. Then again, if she follows through on her plans to bring them there, it would nearly be impossible to keep that a secret. What are they going to do? Cover up all the NERV logos? Then again, it would be easier she to just blindfold them. Then what about Shinji? Unless she separates him from them as quickly as possible, they would find out eventually though him. Maybe. However, if Ritsuko and Commander Ikari saw what they could do, maybe they would offer to join NERV.' Misato looked back at Roy. 'Might as well tell him at least. I somehow feel he won't be blabbering off to the media. Although I have a sneaky suspicion that when all is said and done, it will eventually get out anyways. At least in a controlled fashion for obvious reasons.' "You're going to…NERV Headquarters." 'Which reminds me, I need to get this through Commander Ikari and Ritsuko first…'

"NERV Headquarters?" Roy repeated. Given that Misato hesitated… "Let me guess, it's some sort of secret project or something."

"For the most part." Misato finally turned back to where Roy was. Though the tone of Roy's voice ran through Misato's mind. Maybe her suspicion that he won't be a problem was true. "You know something about secret projects or something?"

Roy nodded. "You're not the only one who works for the military and had to deal with classified material."

Misato raised an eyebrow at Roy's statement. "Wait, you're telling me you're in the military?" 'It would explain the uniforms. But, what nation would have them wear that kind of uniform?'

"Oh," Roy started. "I forgot to introduce myself." He stood upright. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang."

Misato chuckled a bit. "In that outfit? Where did you get that uniform? In the 105 yen costume store?" (105 yen is about 99 cents)

Roy face faulted. 'It's apparently that they don't were these kinds of uniforms here.' He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. As he looked up and down Misato, he realized her dress wasn't exactly, well, normal. At least for their standards if she's in the military. 'Though she could've been off duty when they called her up. Although there's nothing wrong with dreaming about it being the standard dress…' "Well, uh…it's the style my country choose for me, um, us. Besides…" Roy put his hands on his hips, and a foot on a conveniently close small rock. "When I become Fuhrer, my first job would be to update our uniform. Soon, all the women in the army will wear mini-skirt!"

Hughes grinned. "Same old Colonel Mustang."

Misato sweat dropped at Roy. 'This guys freaken delusional!' However, his little rant did shed some light about their origin, or, at least, their delusion. 'He mentioned Fuhrer. So my guess is somewhere in Europe. Most likely in Germany or some German-speaking nation. However, no one uses that term anymore. Not even in Germany. Although the word itself simply meant leader in German, after Hitler became synonymous with that word, everyone stopped using it.' As she looked at the group, it was clear that they were of European decent at least. However, she was surprised at how well they spoke Japanese. 'Must've been one fine Japanese program in the schools that they went to.'

Al walked up to Shinji who was standing next to the car. "Um…Mr. Ikari?"

Shinji jumped a bit "Oh, um…hi." Shinji looked up at the armored suit. "And you can call my Shinji…"

"Alphonse Elric. You could just call me Al." After introducing himself, Al wanted to ask a few questions to Shinji. He remembered Captain Katsuragi mentioning that everyone should be in the shelter. But why wasn't he in one? "I was wondering, why weren't you waiting in the shelter?"

Shinji thought about the time when he entered this city. The time when he stepped off the train right before the warning went about the attack. "Well, I was called to this city by my father. He sent Miss Misato when the Angel attacked."

"I see." Al thought about what Shinji said. It could've been just him, but he thought he detected a scent of sadness in his voice. He brushed it off for the time being as another question was nagging at him. "That reminds me, why is that monster called an Angel? Aren't Angels supposed to be god's messengers? And isn't god supposed to be good?"

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is, everyone calls them Angels."

'Something was not right about this world.' Al thought. Well, other then the big monsters attacking of course. 'But why call them Angels?'

Misato continued to watch the movements of the UN Fighters. Suddenly, they all scatter. "Wait a minute. They are going to use an N-2 mine?"

Ed was enjoying his ability to stretch when he heard Misato's panicked voice. "N-2 mine? What's that?"

"Everyone get down!" Misato knocked Shinji into her car.

Al stared in amazement at Misato's movement. This could only mean one thing. 'Something's bad is about to happen.' He turned back see what could've gotten Misato so scared.

Everyone else stared at where the Angel was when…

**BOOM!**

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ed's eyes were wide in terror. His mouth was to the floor as the blinding light gave way to a massive explosion. He was so shocked that he forgot to even try to counter it. The shockwave knocked him to his back.

Al held the same reaction. He was blown back when the shockwave hit him.

Hughes and Armstrong tried to run back. Instead, they were hit by the blast and dropped to the ground.

Roy stiffened when he saw the explosion. When he saw the blinding light, the mushroom cloud, and the sound of the shockwave hit him, memories of the Ishbal massacre flashed before his eyes. He couldn't take his eyes off of the explosion as the first shockwave approached him. He mind was so flooded with the images and sounds of that event that he didn't hear Riza yelling at him to get down. Nor did he feel her crashing into him, forcing him to the ground as the shockwave finally hit him.

Misato held Shinji as the car rolled over again and again. Luckily for her, she was able to get her legs inside as the open passenger side door would slammed shut during the rolling. When the blue sports car finally came to a stop, it took a few moments for Misato to get her bearing straight and peek out the window.

_**-Later…**_

Al was over Hughes who was still lying on the ground in a strange, running position. Hughes looked like one of those old Egyptian paintings with his head turned to the side, his body facing the sky, and his right arm angled up, and his left arm angled down. His legs were also in some sort of running position. "Are you alright Hughes?" Al was the first to get up. Being a piece of armor, he didn't suffer any scraps or brushes. Though his armor appears to need a good polish though.

"Oh Elysia! You smile is as wonderful as ever!" Hughes spoke without realizing it.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" Al asked with concern in his eyes.

Hughes finally noticed Al's presence. "Oh hi Al. Ummm...just need to rest here a bit! Hehehe…"

Al sighed. "Want me to help you up?"

"Um, no." Hughes replied weakly. "I'll…I'll get up on my on. After I rest here a bit."

"If you insist." Al replied.

Ed was getting his bearings straight. 'That was some explosion.' As he was walking back to the group, he sees Roy sitting on a rock. As he approached him, he notices Roy seemed to be in deep thought. He sat next to Roy. As he looked back at the explosion, and what it did, he wondered if, if it was like… "So, Colonel. Was that how it was like?"

Roy continued to stare blankly into the ground.

Riza breaks the silence. "Edward. I don't think now is the time to bring that subject up."

Ed looked at Riza, then back at Roy and sighed. He stood "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

'No.' Roy mentally responded. 'It was missing the screams of the men, women, and children before their voices were silenced forever.'

As Ed was walking away, his mind was running over what he has been through, and trying to think what Roy had been through. While at first, he thought that Roy was a cold heartless bastard, especially what he did in Ishbal, after a while, he started to realize that Roy wasn't what he originally thought. 'After all, when he went to Risenbool, he visited the Rockbells. Especially since it was he that took away the parents of Winry. It might've been his attempt to confront his past and maybe, just maybe, try to correct the wrongs in his past.'

Misato looked at the group. 'They all seemed to have suffered a lot in their lives.' She looked at Edward whose artificial leg and arm was exposed slightly exposed. 'What could've happened to someone so young?'

Shinji climbed out of the car. He landed on the ground with a thud.

Misato looked back and saw Shinji. "Shinji!" She waved at him. "Now that you're out…you can help me get my car righted."

Before Shinji could respond however…

"Hold it right there Captain Katsuragi…" Armstrong ripped off his shirt. He started posing his massive muscled body. "I can help right your automobile!" Sparkles seemed appear from his body. "My strength has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

"Um…" Misato sweat dropped. "Sure! Go ahead!" She gave a reserved smile at him.

Armstrong pushed her car back on its wheels. "I'm always grateful to be of service Captain!" He continued to pose in front of Misato.

"Hehehe. Thanks…" Misato gave an embarrassed smile before turning to Hughes who had finally gotten up from his position. "Does he do that all the time?"

Hughes grinned. "Pretty much."

Misato sighed. "Well, this day is just full of surprises." As she entered her car, she attempted to turn the key. Nothing. "Dang! That explosion must've killed the engine!" She looked down the road to see a few cars. "While a few of them might've been affected…"

Ed approached the car. "Wait! Why don't you open the hood. Maybe I can try something."

Misato blinked at Ed's demand. 'Could he actually do it?' She remembered how he was able to turn debris into flower petals. 'Couldn't hurt I guess.' "Okay. But if you screw up anything, you're dead!"

Ed blinked in surprise at Misato's threat. He then noticed the handgun that was at her side. 'Obviously Hawkeye here wasn't the only one armed.' He gulped. "Don't worry. I'm just, going to take a look, that's all."

Misato nodded and popped the hood open.

Ed looked into the machine. "It's a lot more complicated then the ones back at home. Still…" He looked at the battery. He read what was in it. "Lead-Acid? This must be where the electricity is stored to run this thing."

Misato nodded. "That's right. And right now, it needs a jumpstart."

Ed grinned. "I know just the thing!" Ed clasped his hands and placed them on the battery. "Now Captain Katsuragi, try it now!"

Misato blinked in amazement. She was about to warn him that doing that might be dangerous. Of course, she never seen anyone jumpstart a battery like that before. And if he did something that would, well, destroy her car, Edward Elric would join the dearly departed in this world. After all, she still had payments to pay off for this car. Still…well, anyways, she needed to check to see if Ed did what she thinks he did. She went inside and turned the key. To her pleasant surprise, it started. "Wow! I don't know what you did, but you've just made my day!"

Ed beamed. "It was nothing!"

Misato got out her car to close the hood. When she slammed the hood shut, her bumper fell off. "GAWD DA…" She stopped herself as she wondered what else this boy in the red jacket could do. She turned to Ed.

Ed instantly knew what she was thinking. "I can fix that too." Ed again clasped his hands and placed it on the hood of the car. Suddenly, all the dents and bang ups that was afflicted on Misato's poor car was all gone.

"Amazing!" Misato couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'Ritsuko definitely has to see this!'

Shinji also saw this in amazement. "Wow!" He turned to Al, the armored man. "Your brother is definitely a talented man."

Al felt a little embarrassed about the praise. Granted, it was praise for Ed, but still, he was slightly embarrassed by it. "It's nothing! He does that all the time!"

"Great!" Misato patted Ed. Ed didn't take too kindly to this move however. "Well, I guess everyone should pile into the car now! I need to get to NERV Headquarters as quickly as possible." She lowered her voice and added… "Before I get chewed out again."

Ed groaned. "Do we have to?"

Misato frowned. "Well, you could stay out here if you want." 'But then I can't show you off to Ritsuko.' "And I could call to see if I can get someone to pick you guys up. But since we're in a State of Emergency, that might not be for some time." As she looked around her now repaired car, an idea sprang up. "Tell you what, I think I have a better seating arrangement you guys can try."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

_**-Later…**_

Al, Riza, and Armstrong were again seated in the back seat. Still crammed given that her car wasn't exactly built to handle, well, two six foot plus guys back there, with one in a piece of armor. However, this time only Hughes was on top of them with his butt on Al's lap, and his legs lying mostly across the other two. Ed and Roy? They were in the small hatchback area of the car. Ed and Roy weren't happy being crammed into the small hatchback area of the car. While it did free up much needed space in the back seat, and Ed and Roy had to admit that it was a lot more comfortable then their first attempt, it still was no fun for either of them.

"Why couldn't Hughes be back here?" Roy fumed. "He's about as tall as me."

However, it was Riza that responded. "I think the current seating arrangements is just fine, Colonel."

Roy sweat dropped.

Ed fumed. Unfortunately for him, his placement in the hatchback portion of the car was a given. He hated to admit it, but there was an advantage for being as, well, short as he is.

Misato picked up the phone. "Ritsuko…"

"Misato, do you have him?" Ritsuko said over the phone. She was slightly concerned since she knew that Shinji was, for the most part, their only hope at the moment.

"Yes I have him." Misato responded. "Oh, and I need some clearance for a few civilians that I would like you to meet."

"Civilians?" Ed frowned. "I'll tell you that we're not…"

Roy elbowed Ed. This caused Ed to slam against the back window a bit. "In this place, for all they know, we are civilians Fullmetal. Remember that."

Ritsuko could here the commotion in the background. Her tone dropped. "Civilians? Misato, not only are we supposed to be a highly classified base, we are also in a State of Emergency! Civilians aren't supposed to be near this facility!"

"I know Ritsuko!" Misato continued. "However, these civilians have, special abilities that I would like you to see. I promise you that you will be fascinated with it!"

Ed frowned at what he was hearing. He didn't like it one bit. "Excuse me, we will not going to be your guinea pigs here!"

"Shush Fullmetal." Roy continued. "We still don't know where we are. Not to mention the many other questions we still have about our situation. This could be our opportunity to get some of them answered."

Misato placed her hand on the speaker. "And some of my questions answered as well." Misato turned back even though she was driving at speeds most people would consider, unsafe. "Look, I won't be forcing any of you into something you don't want. And as long as you don't wander into something classified, I can ensure your protection and safety." She then took her hand off the speaker and spoke into it again. "So, what do you say?"

Ritsuko was still not convinced. "And if they cause trouble Misato?"

"I take full responsibility of all their actions." Misato continued. "I promise you that you won't be disappointed."

Ritsuko sighed. "Fine. I'll grant them clearance. However, Section 2 will be escorting them for the time being."

"Fair enough." Misato smiled. "Oh, and one last thing, get a car train ready. Express one."

"Sure thing." Ritsuko said unenthusiastically. "Just hope this is worth the paper work Misato."

"It is. Bye!" Misato hanged up the phone.

Ed internally smiled. While he still wasn't happy about the idea that he could be someone's guinea pig, it still beats being crammed in the back of Misato's sports car. "Express train. That means fast right?"

_**-Later…**_

Train to NERV

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Ed complained. He was eagerly awaiting his chance get out of the car. Especially since his non-automail right leg was going numb.

"Just a few more minutes and we'll be inside NERV." Misato looked at herself with her makeup kit.

Shinji sighed. As he looked outside the window, while he had a lot to think about, like the strange people crammed in the back seat and trunk, his thoughts kept wandering back to his father. Finally, he asked the question that was on his mind to Misato. "Are you taking me to my father?"

Misato closed her makeup kit. "Yes. Yes I think so."

Shinji sighed. "Father…"

After a few moments of silence, Al spoke up. "Shinji…about your father…do you get along with him?" From the tone in his voice, it didn't sound like Shinji and his father was close.

Shinji looked back at Al. "I…no. Not really." Shinji lowed his head. "The last time I saw him was three years ago. The only thing I know is that he's the Commander of NERV from my teacher."

Misato frowned a bit. "Kind of like my father."

Ed and Al felt like they had something in common with him. From the sounds of it, his father simply abandoned him three years ago. After all, he didn't even know that he was the commander of this organization. However, at least now it seemed that maybe, his father is making amends by calling him back? Something Ed and Al can't say about their own father. Supposing that he's still alive of course (which at the moment, they had no reason to suspect that he wasn't). Though that leaves the question about his mother.

Ed was the one that asked it this time. "So, that means that you lived with your mother right?"

After a bit of silence, Shinji shook his head. "No…she died eleven years ago."

Ed and Al lowered their heads. They both discovered another thing they had in common with Shinji. But in a way, Shinji had it worse. At least their father abandons their mother when she was still alive. But Shinji, not only did he lose his mother, but his father abandoned him! The only family he had. Why would his father abandon Shinji? Did it have anything to do with his mother's death? While both Ed and Al were curious about this, they decided that now was not the time to ask such a question.

Al wanted to know that Shinji wasn't alone. From his tone of voice and his reaction, it appeared that he was lonely in this cruel world. "We lost our mother at a young age as well."

Ed nodded. "Yeah."

The other passengers sat in silence, listening in on the conversations between the Elric brothers and Shinji. For the most part, they didn't know what to say or do.

Although inside Hughes' mind, he was starting to hate Shinji's father even though he hasn't even met him yet. 'How could he just abandon his son like that? Especially after his mother was dead? I mean, if something horrible were to happen to Glacier, I wouldn't abandon Elysia.' The only logic that he could think of was the fact that Shinji's father was the commander of this organization and in turn, couldn't take care of Shinji then. 'But even so, I wouldn't abandon my child over it. If I had to choose between being Fuhrer or Elysia, I would choose Elysia in a heartbeat.' Although Hughes had to remind himself that his father did call him back here. 'Call him back? Then why wasn't it he who picked him up? This isn't right.'

Another uncomfortable silence engulfed the car while on they got closer to NERV Headquarters.

Misato didn't like this silence. It was too sad. That's when she decided to break it by changing the subject. "Oh Shinji, didn't you get your ID card from…?" 'DANG! It still goes back to him.'

Shinji looked at Misato and nodded. "Yeah! I have it right here." Shinji took out an ID card that was clipped to a paper that was mostly blacked out.

Armstrong could only catch a glimpsed of the paper in Shinji's hand. 'This organization must be really secret when even a personal document had to be blacked out.'

"Thanks Shinji." Misato took the ID from him. She also internally sighed. 'At least the conversation didn't go back to Shinji's father.' "Oh, and here is the NERV handbook." She hands it to Shinji.

While all this was happening, Riza whispered back to Roy. "Colonel, what do you think about this NERV organization?"

Roy simply shrugged. "I don't know. The only thing I could guess would be that it has something to do with that monster out there. Maybe it was set up to counter it."

"And what about Shinji Ikari?" Riza continued. "I have a sneaking suspicion that his father didn't call him back so that they could mend their relationship."

"I don't think so either." Roy replied with a frown.

Ed didn't like the sounds of this. "What could he possibly do at NERV? I mean he's barely my age!"

Roy glanced at Ed. "Careful Fullmetal. No one could've thought that a 12 year old could become a State Alchemist either. Who knows what Shinji could do?"

"Yeah." Ed conceded. However, he knows that his situation was different. "Except I chose to be a State Alchemist." He looked behind him to where Shinji was. Though Armstrong and Riza was blocking his view. "I have the feeling that no one asked Shinji if he wanted to be here."

Roy was thinking the same thing.

_**-Later…**_

NERV Headquarters Entrance

"Ehhhhhh…" Ed was gritting her teeth. Ed was rubbing his non-automail leg as the blood started rushing back into it.

"Ehhhhh…" Roy was gritting her teeth. He too was rubbing his legs as the blood started to rush back into them. Difference of course was the fact that unlike Ed, both of his legs were real.

"Welcome to NERV!" Misato proudly proclaims. They were standing in front of a turnstiles awaiting clearance.

Shinji looked around the narrow hallways. It's strange that just outside this facility, was a massive opening entirely underground filled with open fields, trees, and a few scattered buildings. He wanted to know more about this and started reading the manual that Misato gave to him.

Hughes was stretching. "At least this time it wasn't as cramped as before."

"I'm still trying to comprehend that we're entirely underground." Armstrong mentioned. He too stretched and cracked his backs. He remembered looking out the window and seeing what Misato called the 'Geo-Front'. It was simply amazing.

Riza nodded. She was rubbing her sides since they still felt numb from the trip. "We could fit Central down here."

"Well, at least our trip is over." Al sighed. He was the only one that wasn't uncomfortable, for obvious reasons.

Ed was about to speak to the group when he hears the pounding of heavy boots.

Shinji wasn't paying much attention since he was reading the manual. That was, until the guards' boots reached his ears. He turned to them just as they reached their general location. "What's going on?"

The group turned to the sound. Suddenly, they find themselves in front of heavily armed men covered in multicolored uniforms with some kind of black vest, all pointing machine guns at them.

Al brought his arm up as if he was surrendering.

Riza took out her side arm and pointed at the guards.

Hughes narrowed his eyes. He had one hand inside coat ready to throw a few knives at them.

Armstrong didn't react, at least as openly as the others. He just narrowed his eyes a bit as he stared down the guards.

Ed gritted his teeth. "I knew it!" He was about to lunge forward and attack the Section 2 guards when Roy grabbed his shoulder, forcing him back.

Roy shook his head at Ed. He then turned his attention to Riza. "Put your gun away Hawkeye."

"But sir…" Riza looked at Roy confused.

"We don't want to start any trouble." Roy held a determined face. "Put the gun down now."

Riza reluctantly put her gun down.

"I know what this looks like." Misato started. "But remember, we're in a State of Emergency. I wasn't exactly planning to bring civilians here."

"I understand." Roy replied.

Suddenly, a woman came through the line of guards. She was wearing a white lab coat over a swimming suit. She appeared to be a blond, though upon closer inspection, her hair color wasn't uniform. "So this is the group of people that you wanted me to see." She looked at one of them at a time. "Other then their odd fashion statement, I don't see what makes them special. Especially the short one over here."

Ed gritted his teeth. His eyes were burning with rage. "You're calling me short?"

"Edward. Not now!" Roy harshly spat at him.

Ritsuko shook her head. 'Kid has some serious issues.' She then approached Shinji. "You must be Shinji."

Misato answered it for him. "Yes. According to the Marduk Report, he is the Third Child."

'Third Child? What does that suppose to mean?' Ed frowned deepened. 'What the heck is going on here?'

Ritsuko turned to the group. "Well, I'm not sure about Captain Katsuragi's logic in bringing you guys here, but I guess I should at least introduce myself. I am Doctor Ritsuko Akagi."

Roy saluted Ritsuko. "Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, Colonel Roy Mustang at your service."

"Colonel huh?" Ritsuko looked at him skeptically. "With that kind of uniform?"

"We are willing to answer any of your questions." Roy replied.

Ritsuko frowned. 'I certainly have a lot of questions. But right now I don't have time for it. I need to get Shinji up to speed and stop that Angel out there.' "Very well. We will be holding you in the brig for the time being until we deal with the other issue."

Hughes frowned. "The brig? But we…" But Roy interrupted him.

"That would be fine." Roy spoke up. "I promised you that we wouldn't cause any trouble."

Ritsuko nodded. "Very well. Once we deal with the Angel, I will be personally interrogating each and every one of you. Take them away."

Ed wasn't about to just let them be pushed around. "Why you…"

Roy slammed his fist into Ed's head. "Don't do anything rash. I promise that we cooperate. And we will."

Riza eyed Roy as they were taking away. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Roy nodded. "Trust me. This is the only way. I'm explain everything if we get the chance."

Suddenly, one of the Section 2 guards approached Al. "Let me see your face."

Al started to panic. "Ummm…I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't?" The guard was becoming irritated. "Let me see your face!"

Ed tried to get in front of Al. "You can't. You see…"

"Let him stay in the armor." Ritsuko called back. "If he causes any trouble, just use armor piecing rounds on him."

Al sighed. His secret was safe, for now.

As Ed, Al, Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong were being led to the brig, Ritsuko, Misato, and Shinji were heading to the Evangelion Cage.

"I hope you know what you're doing Misato." Ritsuko eyed her friend with suspicion.

"Trust me Ristuko." Misato began. "Once you see what the shrimp can do, you're going to be thanking me! Oh, and while I haven't seen it myself, I also think the others have some other skills too."

"For your sake, I'd better be impressed." Ritsuko looked back at the departing group.

Shinji continued to read the NERV manual.

* * *

End of Chapter 1

Woohoo! Chapter 1 of my new story complete! Sorry about the length by the way. I was contemplating whether or not to put this story in the FMA or Evangelion section. Or I could do the easy way out and put it in the Anime Crossover section. So, my choice? Evangelion. Why? First, I don't go to the Anime Crossover section so, that's why it won't be there. Also, while as you could see, the FMA characters are pretty much the main characters, the vast majority of this story WILL be in the Evangelion. Also, while I said that the FMA characters are the main characters of this story, that doesn't mean that Eva characters will take a backseat to them. They will play a more significant role as the story progresses.

It's also why this chapter is excessively long. While I don't mind doing long chapters, I didn't exactly intend it to be this long! I could've stopped this chapter right before the FMA group came to the Evangelion world. One reason of course was to prove that this story belongs in the Eva section, and not the FMA section (so I had to go beyond that portion a bit). So I had to show a significant part of it in the Eva universe. Once I got there, I just kept writing and writing. More then I thought I would. And so, this is why this chapter was this long.

Oh yeah, and if you notice, the FMA group can now speak Japanese. Why? Well, for one thing, where the FMA setting is, was in a Europeanish like nation. Evangelion…Japan of course. Now, since I'm doing a crossover story, I have three choices when it concerns languages. One, ignore it. Two, have it where the FMA group can't understand a thing in this new strange world, and have to slowly learn the language the hard way. Or three, BS my way and have them speak Japanese. I choose number three. Better then just simply ignoring the language barrier, but takes away the ignoring middle part of trying to integrate them in Japan.

Next Chapter…both groups get their questions answered. After that, then what will FMA group do in this world? Is there a way for them to get back to their world? Until then…later!


	2. Questions and Answers

This is the second chapter of my FMA/Evangelion crossover. Wow! Already? What about the other stories? Well as many of you probably know as fanfic writers, having time to write is one thing. The other is the desire to write. Right now, I'm a little stuck with my other stories with writers block and a simple lack of desire to write more. Right now, this story is quite fresh on my mind (even though I'm still not sure where I'm going with it completely. But at least the first two chapters I pretty much know what I'm doing)!

Also, a few things I wanted to mention in the authors notes before, but forgot too at the time. First, trying to figure out what the FMA gang sees as unique, and not so unique in the new world. Eva of course, slightly more modern version of our world with the Second Impact slowing thing down a bit. FMA world, advanced for a 1920-30ish kind of way where the exception was the alchemy. Oh, and I'm not even sure that they have electricity beyond alchemy since the show seemed to ignore that little detail (most of the time the answer seems to be no since it doesn't appear that anyone has normal light bulbs. And until further notice, I will say that they haven't seen such advancements. But some of the rooms in some of the buildings are awfully nicely lit at night).

Second, I've slightly altered the scene where Shinji and Misato first met and how it happened (other then the addition of the FMA group of course). Wasn't intentional. I just, well, remembered that part wrong. Heh.

Third, when Mustang saw the explosion, I originally had this sappy heart to heart with Edward about his experience during the Ishbal massacre. I, and probably, wisely removed that since that felt WAY over the top. That and it pretty much made the story too serious, and moved it too fast. Also gave out too much sugary emotion that…well, would've sent the first chapter flying off its tracks. Well, not completely, but it had to be removed.

Now, something I didn't plan to add to my previous AN. Something I just noticed when I was re-watching an episode on CN, I saw a potential continuity problem with my story. During the conversation between Armstrong and Misato, he mentioned that he never heard it called a 'car' before. Well, in the episode I saw, Al called it just that, a private car. Oops? Though this is the dubbed version. However, if I do go back to the last chapter, I might have to change that little bit just to stay consistent (there are also quite a few other grammatical mistakes I've noticed when rereading the chapter after I put it up. And to think, this was after I proofread too!). Although I might get away with it if I used the whole language barrier thing (in Japanese, car is kuruma or jyouyousha in Romaji), still, I will probably change it if I go back.

And about Winry, I actually wanted to add Winry to our little gang in the Eva world, but I couldn't figure out how to get her in there. Okay, I could have her 'come along' with Al and Ed for whatever reason (automail parade in Southern Vale?) but to me at least, that's a little too convenient. And if she didn't come with Al and Ed, and was just there, then that would be a little too coincidental too. After all, Winry doesn't go with Al and Ed on their search for the Philosopher Stone, and she seem to rarely leave Risenbool much either.

Not to mention that I already have Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong there already without Winry. I know it was a big group to bring over, but since I really liked these characters, well, that's why I brought them to the Eva world. My only fear is shortchanging one of them (hence why big groups are bad of course). And I will probably wind up using a few characters more then others (specially Ed and Roy). Still, I see good things with all of them in this story. If anything, they will play important supporting roles in that case. Also good thing I wasn't insane and brought over Maria Ross or Denny Brosh. Other then the issue of having too many characters to handle (making it harder for me to deal with all of them), Misato's car would be in deep trouble. Hehehe.

Oh, and while I don't usually single out a reviewer (thanks for all the reviews BTW!), I feel like answering this one. Dany le fou, if Winry were to ever try to take apart an Evangelion, she's in for a nasty surprise. Hehehe. Magi on the other hand…NERV is going to have their hands full trying to keep Winry away from it! Oh, and the Gendo thing…interesting. I wasn't thinking that fall ahead. I might actually implement that in a future chapter (remember, this story just kind of spontaneously popped into my head).

And in response to reviewer Isamu, you know, I wasn't really thinking about that at the time I was writing it. I did know about the Law of Equivalency, hence, why the town of Southern Vale was taken in the failed attempt to make the Philosopher's Stone (and when I do return to the FMA world, you'd see the aftermath of that town). However, I didn't think about what the Eva world should lose in exchange for the FMA group coming over. Previously, I thought maybe I should send a few of the Junior High School students (you can probably guess who) to the FMA world (though that still leaves a few more needing to crossover if you catch my drift. Maybe some random character if I stayed to this). But then, I would miss using them in the Eva world. So, at the moment, nothing has been lost in the Eva world (at least, nothing significant at the moment).

Then again, there was that Second Impact…

Oh look, another long author's note rant. Hehehe. Sorry. I like doing those since I feel like I always need to explain myself. Anyways, enough of my spew, on with the story (and if it is anything like the last chapter, it should be quite long)!

* * *

NERV Brig

The brig was a windowless concrete room. On both sides of the room were benches that reach to the end of the room. On the right bench, Armstrong was sitting at the end, with Al sitting next to him. Next to Al was Ed who was clearly peeved about the situation he was in. Across from them on the left bench were Riza, Roy, and Hughes. Hughes was lying down on the bench at the end, while Riza and Roy were both sitting upright next to him. Roy had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Also, they took away Riza's sidearm. Which of course, isn't a surprise since no one in their right mind would allow prisoners, well, at least potential harmful 'guest' to have weapons. However, when they tried to get Al out of his armor, Al, with the help from the group, resisted. After much debate, Section 2 allowed Al to 'stay' in his armor. Although they were ready if he were to become a threat with their armor piercing rounds.

After a long few hours of fuming, Ed couldn't take it anymore. "I'm tired of sitting here!" Ed shot up from his seat. "We should've never listened to that 'Captain' out there! Now…" Ed raised his tone of voice as he approached the door. "We're trapped in here for who knows how long! And we're probably going to be experimented on by that crazed doctor woman!"

Roy peered at Ed for a moment. Then he shut his eyes again.

Ed was about to clasp his hands. "I'm breaking us out of here…"

"And do what?" Roy interrupted in a low, but strict tone. "Once you break out of here, are you going to face down an entire army of them?"

Ed gritted his teeth. He shot his head towards Roy. "Anything would be better then staying in here while they experiment on us! Maybe even turn us into chimeras!"

Roy grinned. He was quite amused by the little man coming to his hasty conclusion. "Do you really thing that they would turn us into chimeras? If you remembered the lovely Captain Misato Katsuragi's expression, she was completely shocked when you did alchemy. From what it appears, no one here has seen alchemy before."

Riza frowned at Roy's one-track mind. 'Lovely Captain Misato Katsuragi? Same old Colonel Mustang.' Riza internally groaned. However, other then that one line, Roy was making sense and she started to understand why Roy did what he did.

"It could be a trick!" Ed harshly replied. He refused to give ground to the Colonel. "And if it wasn't, that's even more reason why we shouldn't stay! Who knows what they have planned for alchemist!" He finally clasped his hands and was ready to get out of there. "We still need break out of here and…"

"And what Fullmetal?" Roy finally fully opened his eyes and turned his attention at Ed. "You haven't answered my question yet. You're going to take them all head on? Even if we all helped, it still probably wouldn't be enough to get past them. Not to mention the fact that we are deep underground! Even if by some miracle that we do get through their forces, how do you suppose that we get to the surface Fullmetal?"

Ed was staring to feel defeated. "Well, we could…"

"We could hijack that train." Roy answered for him. "But that's supposing that we find it first. Do you know how large this facility is?" Roy sees Ed thinking back about how big this place really was. Especially since they were also trying to comprehend many of the unique inventions surrounding this place. Like that machine that followed them around that looked like an eye. As well as the light bulbs above them that appeared to run off of electricity. How was that possible? Without alchemy even? But that's an issue left for another time. Right now, it was about Ed's little rant about escaping that Roy believed was a very bad idea given their situation. Looking at Ed, Roy could see that Ed's determination to get out of there diminishing. However, just to be safe, he continued on with why his little escape plan was foolish in light of everything around them. "And even if we somehow find our way to the train station, are you sure that the train will even be there? And if by some miracle it is, and that we are able to operate that train and get to the surface, then what? Last time I checked, we still haven't figured where we are yet. And given the advancement of the cars here, not to mention those flying machines, even if this is our own world, it certainly isn't our time! We'd be a bunch of sorry fools wandering the streets of a nation that, due to us blowing up their secret military organization to even get to the surface your way, we'd the entire state and its military against us."

Ed let his arms fall to the side. He finally sees the hopelessness of the situation.

Hughes thought about it for some time. "The Colonel has a point Ed. We're stuck in this situation ever since we decided to come along with Captain Katsuragi."

"And even if we decided not to get into Captain Katsuragi's private car, what's to ensure our safety from that huge monster?" Armstrong added. While Armstrong, being a, big man himself, likes a challenge to show off his strength and ability, even he knows that he has limits. And that monster appeared to be one of them.

"Oh yeah." Roy leans back, resting his head on the wall. "I forgot all about that." He then eyed Ed. "Remember that huge monster Full…"

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Edward sat down next to Al. "You don't have to rub it in."

Al wondered about that monster. He turned to the group. "Speaking of that monster, what happened to it?"

"Al, did you see what they did to it? They blew it up with whatever weapon that they had!" Ed answered with confidence. "It's as good as dead!"

"Maybe Edward Elric." Armstrong spoke up. "But if that was the case, then what did Doctor Akagi mean when she said that she had to deal with the other issue?"

"Beats me!" Ed replied. "Maybe there was more then one monster. I mean you saw that explosion. There is no way that monster could've survived that!"

"Yeah. I guess you're right brother." Al agreed. 'It was a pretty big explosion. But then, what would be the reason to bring Shinji here if they could just use the same weapon over and over again against these monsters?'

After a few moments of silence, Riza turned her attention to Roy. "Well Colonel, I think I've finally see why you did what you just did." She said with an understandable tone. "If we did do anything rash, we would've all been dead by now." After listening to the conversation between Ed and Roy, she pretty much understood why Roy allowed them to be captured. She had to admit, in retrospect, if she did try anything, they wouldn't have gotten very far before they were all taken down. As good as they were, they couldn't take on a whole army either, especially in this foreign land. 'Funny, usually I'm the levelheaded one here! Good thing Roy didn't allow us to do something stupid.'

Roy grinned. "That's correct Lieutenant Hawkeye. However, that wasn't my sole purpose in allowing us to be captured by them."

Ed had his head down after his first little argument with Roy. Like Riza, he too had a pretty good understanding of what Roy was up too. That was, until he heard Roy's last statement. He shot his head up and turned to Roy. "What do mean?"

Roy turned to the group who were all now interested in what he had to say. "Well, it is quite clear that this world isn't our own, well, at least our own time. In fact, we're pretty lucky if you asked me. Of all the people to meet and impress in this world, was Captain Misato Katsuragi!"

Riza frowned. "Colonel…"

"I don't mean that Hawkeye." Roy grinned. 'At least, not completely.' "Of all the people to befriend, someone who not only belongs to the military, but also one that belongs to a secret organization within it was probably the best thing that could've happened to us during this unfortunate event."

Armstrong had to agree to that. "And given the resources that this military apparently has…"

"They built this entire facility underground." Hughes added. "That's got to mean something."

"Exactly." Roy continued. "If anyone has the resources to get us back, it's them."

Al's eyes brighten. "If they do have the resources to get us back, then does that mean that they could make the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Maybe." Roy replied. "After all, we're here due to a failed attempt to make the stone."

"Hold on a minute!" Ed spoke up, stopping Roy in his tracks. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! While we know that this military is capable of many things that don't means that they can get us back, much less make a Philosopher's Stone! After all, they haven't even seen alchemy! Right Colonel?"

"No. At least that's my guess." Roy replied, though he still held a sense of confidence in his voice. "But then again, if they can't find a way for us to get back home, then no one can. I'd like to be a little optimistic Fullmetal."

Hughes brought out his picture of Elysia. He looked at it with sadness in his eyes.

Al saw this. He wanted to comfort Hughes knowing full well how it felt to have a love one be absent in his life. Although it was the other way around for them, Al not having a father before his mother died, while Hughes was missing his wife and daughter, it still created a hole in someone's heart. Even if, hopefully in this case, the absence is temporary. "Don't worry Hughes, we're find a way back home! I'm certain of that!"

Hughes glanced at Al and smiled. "Thanks Al." He then turned back to the picture of his daughter. "But I'm still going to miss her smiling face looking up at me!"

Ed listened in on Al and Hughes' conversation. He dropped his head. 'We will all get back home! One way or the other.' However, he still had doubts over all of this. "Okay! I'll go along with this. But even if they can bring us back home, what do we have to give in return?"

"Thinking like an alchemist Ed?" Roy grinned. Although he understands where Ed was thinking, he himself wasn't overly concerned about it, at least not yet. "Well, like anything, can't get something without giving something in return. What that is, we'll just have to find out now do we?"

Ed frown deepened. He believed that all military was similar one way or the other. Especially when it concerns secret projects that this NERV organization obviously was. And then there's the issue about his brother. "And what about Al?"

Roy glanced at Al before turning his attention back to Ed. "We obviously can't keep him a secret. But how will they react and what they will do, I don't know. All I, and any of us can do, is prevent them from doing something horrible."

Ed's eyes darkened. 'I don't care what they do to me. But if they touch Al…'

NERV Command Center

"How is Shinji?" Misato asked with concern in her voice.

The battle was over. After what seemed like Shinji's inability to counter the Angel, which wasn't a surprise since he didn't have any prior training operating an Eva before, for the most part, being forced to pilot it (if not him, then an injured Rei Ayanami would pilot it. Shinji knew that he had to pilot it, if only for her sake), Shinji quickly recovered and fought like a mad man. He was able to turn the tide against the Angel, and was able to get through its AT Field. Shinji nearly destroyed it if it wasn't for the Angel's final suicidal move that left the Eva's armor damaged. Although there were questions on whether or not it was Shinji that actually fought it off (since all communications with the Eva stopped right before the Eva got back up and countered the Angel), at least the first Angel since Second Impact, third Angel in the grand scheme of things, was dead. The only question was the health of Shinji who, after communications was reestablished, screamed and fell unconscious inside the plug.

"Well, according to the recovery and medical team, he doesn't appear to be physically hurt." Ritsuko gave a slightly worried response. "But, he is unconscious when they picked him up. He is under observation in the hospital for the time being."

"Hmh." Misato nodded as she thought about everything that happened since she got to NERV headquarters. "It's still not fair for Shinji to have to pilot it with no formal training of any kind."

"World's not fair Misato." Ritsuko added. "It wasn't like I wanted it to be like this. After all, only a few people can pilot an Eva. And unfortunately for Shinji, he was one of them."

"I know that Ritsuko." Misato replied. "But that still doesn't make it right."

Ritsuko sighed. "Yeah well, can't really do much about it. The only thing Shinji could do was not pilot it. He does have a choice in the matter. I mean yes, it would've meant an injured Rei Ayanami would take his place, but he still had a choice."

"Yes. I know." Misato agreed. Although to her, even with that line of logic, it was really not a choice for Shinji. After all, only a truly cold and heartless person would allow an injured Rei Ayanami to pilot Unit 01 in his place.

"Well, all we can do is wait with Shinji." Ritsuko sat down at her chair. She watches as her friend nodded in silence. Ritsuko then turned to her computer monitor, which had a video of the strange people in the brig. "Now, on to the other matter Misato…"

"Oh yeah." Misato was a little glad about the change in subject. At the moment, she can't do much for Shinji. Now, she can have her mind set on to the little matter of her new guest. "Like I said, once you see their abilities, you will be impressed!"

Ritsuko was still skeptical of course. Although she was sure that Misato wasn't dumb enough to just bring in people off the street, she still needed more then just Misato's word for it. "Okay. I'll see if they are worth my attention. By the way, where did you find them?"

"They were all standing next to Shinji when I arrived." Misato replied.

Ritsuko frowned. "Well, can't say much about their intelligence. After all, they should've all been in the shelter."

"I thought so too." Misato added. "But given that they appeared to be out of place, maybe they didn't know where they were."

"True. The odd clothing gave that away. Not to mention that one guy in armor. But if they didn't know where the shelter was, they could've just asked. After all, while they all appeared to be foreigners, they also all appeared to be able to speak Japanese pretty well." Ritsuko reasoned. "I mean it wasn't like the State of Emergency occurred minutes before the Angel came to shore."

"Yeah." Misato agreed with that statement. However, something about their reaction, when she first saw them, does seem to suggest that, maybe they did come out of nowhere. "Well, I have no idea why they were there in the middle of the evacuated zone. But I do know that the shrimp in the red jacket did something amazing! If it wasn't for him changing the falling concrete and destroyed fighters into flower pedals, we'd all be dead by now!"

"Flower pedals you say?" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. While she had no reason to believe that Misato would make up such a story, it was difficult to take this story at face value either. "Well, let's just see if you're right." Ritsuko turned to Makoto Hyuga. "Hyuga! Get me a satellite feed of the Chubu and Kanto region before the Angel came to shore."

"Yes!" Makoto did just that. He typed in a few commands, and up on the screen, was a satellite picture of Tokyo 3.

"Now, zoom in that area!" Ritsuko indicted the area where Shinji was supposed to meet Misato. As they zoomed into that area, they could see an overhead shot of Shinji on the payphone. However, missing from the scene was the group that Misato picked. "That's odd…"

"They're not there." Misato added, noticing the same thing.

Ritsuko was starting to get intrigued. However, it could've simply meant that they were in one of the nearby buildings. 'Misato said she met the group standing next to Shinji. The only place they could've came from was from one of the nearby buildings.' "Let's go forward with the pictures, one minute at a time."

"Yes." Makoto typed in a few commands. Soon, each picture started appearing. Each image represented a change of one minute. After a few of the pictures passed, a bright light appeared next to Shinji. Before Ritsuko could fully react, the picture changed again and the group was all standing next to Shinji.

"Stop it right here!" Ritsuko eyes widened. "Well this is interesting! Go back a minute, and change the time difference to seconds."

Makoto complied and the images were soon changed the time difference of the images to seconds. Each one showed the light first appear, then gets dimmer and dimmer. Finally, standing in the middle of where the light was, was the group of people that were now currently being held in the brig.

Misato was also amazed. "That explains why they were there! And we haven't even gotten to the good part yet!"

"Well Misato, you do have me intrigued about these people now." Ritsuko nodded. "Now you have me curious about their origins and why they are here. However, I still need to verify that they could turn concrete and metal into flower pedals."

"Actually just the shrimp." Misato corrected. "But again, I'm sure the others have special abilities as well. Just that, they haven't used them in the short amount of time I was with them."

"Very well. Let's see this shrimp in action then." Ritsuko ordered Makoto to continue cycling through pictures. Suddenly, they come across one picture where debris was falling from the damaged buildings nearby and the destroyed UN fighters. As the next set of images went by, it appeared that one of the figures, the one in the red jacket, was on the ground as electricity flowed through the area. Ritsuko's eyes widened until she ordered Makoto to stop on the picture where they were all trying to cram into Misato's car with the Angel literally inches away from them. It was an amazing set of pictures for Ritsuko. "I almost feel sorry for your car Misato. Having all those people crammed into it, including a guy in full armor probably didn't do wonders for the back suspension."

Misato smiled. "Yeah well, that's another thing about shorty over there! Not only did he save us from the debris, he also repaired my car! Not even a single scratch from the debris or the N-2 blast! He has one heck of a talent!"

"Even repaired your car?" Ritsuko grinned. "Then I definitely have to study him! I'm glad you did something right for once Misato!"

Misato frowned. "Excuse me! But I also…"

"Save it. I was just joking..." Ritsuko giggled a bit. "Although about those 'flower pedals' that you talked about…since when are flower pedals shiny?"

"Huh?" Misato looked back on the screen. Although they were extremely tiny even at maximum zoom from the satellite photo, she could see that they were quite reflective. "Must've been made from the metal."

"I guess so." Ritsuko said as she took out a clipboard. "And the concrete…seemed to have been turned to dust."

"Yeah." Misato noticed the area looked a little dirtier then before. She didn't notice it at the time since she was too much in awe by what Edward Elric did. That and the need to get out of there as quickly as she could filled her mind then as well. "But that's still an amazing feat!"

"Exactly!" Ritsuko replied. "You're telling me he turned large concrete boulders into dust and metal wreckage into metal flower pedals. We definitely have to talk to them about this!" Ritsuko started to walk out of the Command Center. "I'm going to pay them a visit. Let's see if they have any answers for us."

"I'm going with you!" Misato followed Ritsuko out. "I also want to know how he did it!"

As Misato strolled down the hallway with Ritsuko, she suddenly remembered another issue that they had to deal with. "Um, Ritsuko, does the Commander…"

"Probably. At least, he knows that you brought civilians here." Ritsuko replied to her concerned friend. "I mean it is kind of difficult to hide it from him. Especially when I had to get clearance, and bother Section 2 about it. But don't worry Misato. If they are as great as they say they are, I'm sure the Commander wouldn't mind having them here."

"Yeah…" Though Misato wasn't really concerned about her safety concerning the commander. She was more concerned about her new guest. 'What will the commander do when he finds out about their powers?' While she was excited to be 'showing off' this group and their powers, she also didn't want them to get involve in something that that could hurt them. 'Shinji pretty much had no choice whether or not he should join. Especially since he was the commander's son. But what's going to happen when he finds out about this group? I don't want to involve them in anything that could put their lives in danger.'

Ritsuko however, was thinking about something else. 'I wonder if their power is of any use? Especially since at the moment, the only one I know of that has said powers is the short guy in the red jacket. Wonder where the others in the group stand?'

NERV Brig

Ritsuko entered the corridor to the brig that the foreign group was being held in, she noticed heavily armed Section 2 guard standing right outside it. Each one was carrying machine guns containing armor piercing rounds. Ritsuko frowned. "Let me guess, the armor guy refused to take off his armor?"

The first guard nodded. "No matter what we say, he refuses to remove that armor. And every time we go in to forcibly remove his armor by ourselves, the others stand in his way."

Ritsuko rubbed her chin about this new revelation. "What could that guy be hiding?" She turned to Misato who was standing next to her also with a bewildered expression. "Misato, did they tell you why he's in that armor?"

Misato lightly nodded. "Yeah, but, I think their answer was bullshit. They said that he's in there because he has some skin disease."

Ritsuko's face also gave a questioning look. "Skin disease? Well, it's possible I guess. Though I agree with you that their answer was probably bullshit. I'll see what's up." See approached the door to their brig. "Open it."

"But ma'am…" The first guard tried to stop her.

"If my life was ever in danger, well, that's what you're here for right?" Ritsuko looked at the guard with a stern gaze.

The guard backed down a bit and nodded. He ordered his guards to be ready if any of them made a threatening move. They certainly don't want to be the one to lose one of the most important NERV personnel here. The first guard unlocked the brig's door and opened it.

Inside NERV Brig

Inside the brig, all members of the group got up from their position and stared at the opening door. They were all stood up and tried to look as non-threatening as possible. As the door swung open, they see the doctor woman enter first, carrying a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it, and a pen in one hand. A full squad of guards stood outside aiming all their weapons at them, specifically at Al. While Ed wasn't going to let any of them touch Al, and was ready to spring forward at the first chance he gets, Roy held him back.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. I am in charge of development here at NERV. Anything more is classified." After her reintroduction, she coughed before continuing. "Now I'm sorry about the guards behind me." Ritsuko indicated the company behind her. "But they are quite necessary given that we are not sure about your armored friend there."

Roy looked at her wearing more normal clothing then she did yesterday where she was only wearing a jacket over a swimsuit. He was a little disappointed in that, but he couldn't let on to his feelings on that. After all, they are in a very serious situation here. "I understand." Roy stood upright. "Al's a special case. We…"

"I'll talk to you later." Ritsuko walked past Roy and went straight to Al. Al's eyes widen as his fear that his secret would be exposed became substantial. He took a scared step back as Ritsuko came near him. As she did this, the guards behind her all raised their guns. A bunch of red dots all appeared on Al. "I do have a lot of questions for every one of you. However, our concern at the moment is this one…"

Ed watched as the red dots all appeared on Al. He was pretty agitated. "What are those red dots? They better not be hurting Al!"

Misato then got her way through the door and pushed her way till she was standing shoulder to shoulder next to the group of Section 2 guards (it wasn't exactly wise to say, stand in front of them at this moment now is it?). "Don't worry shr…" Misato stopped herself. She say him lose his temper, and given his special ability, she didn't exactly want him to be shot down due to him not accepting the fact that he was 'height challenged'. "Ummm…Edward right? Those red dots are just an aiming guild. Completely harmless."

"That's right." Ritsuko reassured the easily offended youth. "However, if he does do anything threatening, the rounds in their weapons would make your…"

"Younger brother." Misato added.

"Younger brother?" Ritsuko's eyes widen as she looked Al, then to Ed. "You're kidding right?"

"Um…" Al scratched the back of his armored head. "It's a…long story."

Ed frowned since it was an, indirect reference to his height. However, he found himself at a lose of words as it was becoming clear that Al's secret was going to be exposed, and there appeared to be no way out of this. "Uh…well…"

Ritsuko shook her head. "Whatever. Anyways, those rounds would turn your 'younger brother' into Swiss cheese."

Ed was even more scared them before. "But would they just rico…"

Ritsuko shook her head. "I guess you haven't heard of armor piercing bullets have you?"

Ed's eyes widened. "No…"

"Armor piercing bullets?" Riza was a little stunned. She was also, she hated to admit, a little excited. "There are such things?"

"Yup!" Misato smiled. "Though these particular bullets can't stop a tank of course, but they should be able to go through Kevlar and certainly this knight suit!"

Riza wasn't sure what this 'Kevlar' thing Misato talked about was, but the idea that bullets could penetrate even a tough armor excited her. However, as she looked back at Al, it also scared her. 'If they shoot one round into him, it wouldn't kill him, but it would expose his secret.' She then looked at Roy. 'Then again, I guess there's no point in keeping it a secret now isn't there?'

Al lowered his head. "It doesn't matter. You see…"

"Al no!" Ed was terrified. Although he was afraid that this moment would come, he didn't think it would come this soon. Not now! "You see, you can't just…"

Armstrong looked at the two boys with concern in his eyes. He interrupted Ed to prolong the secret about Al. "Al has a…skin disease that prevents him from taking off his armor. You can take my word for it that he that he is no threat."

"That's what you told Misato." Ritsuko eyed Armstrong before returning her gaze to Al.

"Well, actually…" Hughes slide behind Ritsuko. He gave a nervous smile as he spoke. "It was me who said that…" Hughes then noticed that the red dots were on him. "I'll stay back…" He slides back to his previous position.

"So, what's the name of this disease?" She got closer and closer to Al. "Leprosy? Skin cancer? What?"

Roy watched this and waited. Although he wanted to speak up, he was afraid that it wouldn't do any good at the moment until Doctor Akagi sees it for herself. 'Sorry Al, but the good doctor will find out one way or the other.'

Al knew he was defeated. All he can hope for was that he would be fine after this. "No. I don't have a skin disease."

"Don't be silly Al!" Ed was still trying to get him out of this. "You see if he took off that armor, he would spread that skin disease, what did you call it? Leprosy or something…"

"Look." Ritsuko narrowed her eyes. She was getting tired of this game. She pushed Ed aside. "I'm sorry we have to put you through this but we can't allow a man wearing a full…" She tapped her clipboard on Al's armor. Her eyes widened greatly as she hears the sound coming from it. "Wait…"

Misato also heard the same thing. "Did, did I just hear what I think I heard?"

The Section 2 guards were also shocked. They all looked at each other in complete confusion.

Ed looked at Ritsuko with worry in his eyes, before he dropped his head in defeat.

Ritsuko looked at each one with complete confusion. "What, is he?"

Finally, Roy spoke up. "You can't remove Al's armor because…"

But Ed felt like he had to answer that question. So he interrupted Roy before he could finish. "Because he is the armor."

Ritsuko's eyes widened even more. Although she has seen a lot of amazing stuff in her life, one of which is in the NERV cage right now getting its armor replaced, at this moment, she still found herself a lost for words. "How, what…" Finally, she settled on the first thing that came to her mind. "He wasn't born into this was he?"

Ed shook his head. "No. He…" Ed didn't feel like reliving those memories. But if it makes this doctor person understand their situation, hopefully she will not do some horrible experiments on him. "He…lost his body when we…tried to bring our mother back."

Al looked down in sadness having to relive that moment in his life. Although he couldn't escape it since he is reminded of it every time he looks at himself. And though whenever asked, Ed would be the one to take the blame for what happened, Al still felt responsible since he could've stopped it.

Ritsuko could understand that why he isn't in his normal body she surmised. 'I guess they really loved their mother that they would willingly risk their own lives. But, what could possibly turn him into a suit of armor?' As she looked at Al, although she couldn't be one hundred percent sure since she was looking at a suit of armor after all, he didn't look all that threatening. She ordered the guards behind her to stand down. "Lower your weapons, I don't think he's a threat."

The guards lowered their weapons. This seemed to lift the tension in the room a bit as Al no longer had to worry about having a ton of holes in his body.

Roy wanted to speak up, but looking at the boys, he knew that they were the ones that should be telling the story, at least, as much as they are willing.

"Ooooooooh." Misato responded. It was all she could think of at the moment. She was still trying to comprehend that this guy isn't just in a suit of armor; he IS the suit of armor.

Now that the guards lowered their weapons, and the tension lifted somewhat, she asked her first question about this incident. "What exactly did you two do?" She then thought about the reason why they're even here. "Did it have anything to do with that, magic that you did?"

Ed looked up at Ritsuko. "No. I mean, what that is, isn't magic. It's alchemy."

"Alchemy?" Misato had heard of that term before. She was sure she heard it mentioned in her junior high chemistry class that she found extremely boring. "Isn't that where people in Medieval Europe tried to turn metal in gold?"

Ed looked at Misato. "Not just that. While many of its founders started on that quest to turn common metal into gold, it is much more then that."

Armstrong finally spoke up. "Alchemy is the ability to change one substance to another. To understand the molecular composition of an object, break it down, and then rebuild it into something else."

Ritsuko looked at Armstrong. "I know the basis of what alchemy is supposed to be all about. But how can you be able to do such thing? In our world, while the science of alchemy is possible, it would take too much energy to make something like common metal into gold for it to ever be worth it." Before Armstrong could respond however, she continued. "Oh, I'm sorry to be rude, but may I ask your name?"

"Not a problem ma'am." Armstrong raised his lower arm in front of him, showing off his gauntlet with an array on it. "I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong! The Strong Armed Alchemist!" He ripped off his shirt showing off his chiseled body. "I use a combination of physical strength and alchemy which has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" He posed and flexed his muscles in front of a completely stunned Ritsuko. Sparkles appeared around his body.

Misato chuckled a bit. Now her friend gets to see 'mister show it all'.

Ritsuko's eyebrow was quivering. She couldn't believe that this guy would, well, rip his shirt off in front of her. Was he trying to pick her up and score points or something? "Ooooooooookay. Um, a word of advice; most women aren't impressed by big muscles big guy." The sparkles seemed to fall off Armstrong's body as Ritsuko turned to Roy. "So, you are…"

"Colonel Roy Mustang ma'am." Roy saluted Ritsuko.

"Colonel…" Ritsuko began. "Just so you know, your rank at the moment currently means nothing to me."

Roy didn't ease up a bit. He knew their rank meant nothing here, at least at them. "Yes ma'am."

"However," Ritsuko looked at each of the ones in a blue uniform. "So, you're all a part of the military in your nation. Are you all, alchemist?"

Roy shook his head. "No. Major Armstrong, Edward Elric, and I are the only State Alchemist here. First Lieutenant Hawkeye…" He indicated to the woman standing beside him, "And Lieutenant Colonel Hughes are not alchemist."

Hughes waved at Ritsuko when she looked at him.

"I see." Ritsuko replied as she thought about this. 'This means that, like scientist in this world, not everyone is an alchemist. And he mentioned something about State Alchemist was it?' "And is every alchemist a State Alchemist?"

Roy shook his head again. "No. Al over there is an alchemist, but not a State Alchemist."

Ed frowned. "Right. Because once you become a State Alchemist, you become a dog of the state."

Misato grinned. She liked his attitude. Although she had to follow orders of course being a part of NERV, that doesn't mean she believes that every single order should be followed. Though luckily for her, Commander Ikari had given her a lot of freedom so far. Still, she was well aware that he was her superior, and she must follow all of his orders, whether she like it or not. And while she doesn't know Commander Ikari personally, she had a feeling that she's not going to like all of them.

Ritsuko continued to write this down on her clipboard. It was clear that the little one didn't like the military. Not to mention, he was pretty young to be in the military. Of course, they can't exactly claim innocence in this matter since Shinji Ikari wasn't exactly old either. After she finished writing down all the information they presented about it, she then turned to Roy again. "Well, Colonel…" Although she didn't have to call him by that term given that his rank meant nothing here, she decided to be courteous and continue calling him a Colonel, for now at least. Besides, they were still military personal, even if their nation doesn't exist in this world. "Major Armstrong over there called himself the Strong Arm Alchemist. I assume he is called that due to his technique to combine his physical strength with this alchemy. Are you and Edward over there called by a different name as well?"

"Yes ma'am." Roy replied. "I am the Flame Alchemist." Roy showed his glove. "With the use of alchemy, I can turn a little spark into a flaming inferno by feeding it the oxygen from the surrounding air." He then pointed to Roy. "Edward is…"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist!" Ed proudly posed.

Ritsuko looked at Ed, then at Al with confusion. "Um, shouldn't that nickname apply to your brother?"

Ed face faulted.

Al waved her away. "Uh hehehe…"

Roy chuckled a bit. "I get the feeling they get that a lot." He looked at Ritsuko who turned her attention back to him. "No. You see, only State Alchemist get an unofficial second name. Since Al is not a State Alchemist, he doesn't get one."

Ritsuko grinned. "Fair enough." She turned towards Edwards. "And what is so special about your alchemy that earned you the name, Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Ed showed her his artificial arm. "I can make alchemy without a transmutation circle with this arm."

Ritsuko's eyes widened. The more she is with them, the more amazing it gets. Not only does he have an artificial arm, but, in an odd sort of way, was more advanced then any artificial limb that she has seen. It moved almost like a real arm if it wasn't for the fact that it was made out of metal. 'If it wasn't for the Evas, I could be studying these guys instead.' Right now though, she was curious how someone so young, could lose an arm. Did he give it up voluntarily? Only one way to find out… "That arm, how did you lose it?"

Ed's smile disappeared and lowered his head. "Not just my right arm. My left leg as well. I…I lost it the same reason why Al doesn't have a body."

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot that." Ritsuko started writing some stuff down on her clipboard. "So, could you tell me why you lost it?" After a few moment of complete silence, she decided that now might not be a good time. "If you want, you don't have to…"

Finally Ed broke the silence. "No. I'll tell it. No reason why you can't hear it right?" Ed paused to take a breath before he continued. "When our mother died, we tried to bring her back using alchemy. We brought all the ingredients together that made up a human body."

Al continued to the story. "But alchemy isn't magic. It takes more then just carbon, calcium, water, and other materials to bring a person back to life."

"The first law of Alchemy. The Law of Equivalent Exchange." Ed was fighting back the tears that threatened to appear. "We had everything. Everything to bring her back except…"

"Something to exchange for the human soul right?" Ritsuko watched as Ed and Al both nod in silence. "I guess in exchange for trying to bring back your mother, you lost your arm and leg, and your brother lost his body. Pretty high price to pay." As she continued to write this all down, she then looked at the two boys. "Did you, at least…succeed?"

Al and Ed shook their heads.

"We were fools." Ed choked out. "Something came back, but it wasn't our mother. And when…and when Al was losing his body, I had to quickly transfer his soul to a nearby armor. The one you see now."

Hughes looked at the brothers. 'Although he didn't have much to say at the moment, given that he wasn't an alchemist, his mind was still cluttered with many thoughts. While he knew, at least part of the story on what happened to the Elric brothers, he didn't know all the details either. Being an investigator and all, he was able to find out a lot of things. Also, he could've easily found a lot about what happened. Maybe not every single detail of course, but at least a lot of what happened on that night. He however stayed away from it. 'It was something that can only be retold by them, and only them.' And at the moment, this was the most he has heard of their story. 'And while they were fools to try, I hate to admit it but, if my dear Elysia or Glacier died, I might try to bring them back as well.'

Ritsuko saddened knowingly. "I guess even you can't play god."

"Human transmutation." Roy commented. "It's forbidden from where we came from for this very reason. Although they weren't the first to try it, nor will they be the last."

"We can relate." Misato replied behind them. "We too try to push the limits, and we fail as well." 'Second Impact could be viewed as that.'

"Which was why we are looking for the Philosopher's Stone." Al spoke up. "With that stone, we can get my brother's limbs and my old body back!"

Ed was waving back at his brother. "Wait Al! Don't…"

However, it was WAY too late for that. Ritsuko heard it quite clearly. "The Philosopher's Stone?" Ritsuko rubbed her chin. "I've heard about that. In our legends, the Philosopher's Stone is a chemical that was supposed to bring about a permanent change of making a base metal into gold. I assume that in your world that it can do much more then that right?"

Ed sighed. 'Well, if they are going to help us, which is still in question, might as well tell them.' He nodded his head. "It's supposed to bypass all laws of alchemy and give the user an unlimited amount of power."

"In theory." Hughes butted in. "Although there has been a lot of researched devoted to that area, and some might even claim that they came close, but no Philosopher's Stone has ever come out of it. Now, there have been rumors of its existence for years, but so far, none of them have been confirmed."

"But we can keep trying, right?" Al replied with a little hope in his voice.

"Yeah." Ed said. Though he was slightly down. "However, if Doctor Marcoh's work holds any truth, it might be a fruitless matter. From his instructions, it takes living people to make."

"But then, how would this Doctor Marcoh know that it would take living people to make a Philosopher's Stone? Is he implying that it was made then?" Misato asked.

"Um…" Ed did not want to respond to that. Especially since he just let out the fact that it would take living people to make it. If he said yes, this NERV group wants them to make a Philosopher's Stone, it could be like his run in with Tucker all over again. He vowed NOT to be manipulated like that.

Unfortunately for Ed, Roy answered for him. "We can't be certain. Although Doctor Marcoh was able to create a fake Philosopher's Stone which was able to give alchemist an enhanced power, it still wasn't the real thing."

"And the use of living people?" Ritsuko asked Roy.

Roy stayed silent. While he wasn't privy to all the information, what he knew of the research, he could guess that the answer was yes.

"But there is another way!" Al reassured his brother. "There has to be!"

"I hope so too Al." Ed smiled. "Otherwise…" He couldn't think of the possibility that his brother would never have a human body. At the same time though, he would NEVER sacrifice another human life for it either.

Ritusko started thinking about what this meant. 'This, Philosopher's Stone, could be a worthy pursuit for not only them, but for us. However, something that would defy not only our laws of science, but the laws of their alchemy as well?' "If this Philosopher's Stone can do what you say it can do, are you saying that it can bring back a person's life?"

Ed nodded. "In theory."

"But everyone that pursued the Philosopher's Stone has ended in failure one way or the other." Armstrong replied. "And even if they succeed, is the price in making it worth the benefits?"

"Maybe not." Roy replied. "After all, we're here because of a failed attempt to make the stone."

Misato started to frown. 'If the Commander hears about this, he's not going to care what it takes to make the Philosopher's Stone. He's going to force them to make it if possible!' This was exactly what she did NOT want to happen.

Ritsuko was thinking the same thing, with a few differences. 'If Gendo hears about this, he's going to want the Philosopher's Stone no matter what it takes to make them. Even if to achieve that goal meant sacrificing a few innocent victims. While I hope he would look at this with a level mind, given what this Philosopher's Stone was supposed to do, I'm afraid he would do just that. The only thing standing in his way would be us of course. But he will always find a way to achieve his goals.' She then remembered what Al said. 'There has to be another way. Well, I hope you're right Al.' Still, she had other matters to discuss with them before she can figure out what she would do to them. "Well, we can discuss this Philosopher's Stone issue another time. Right now, I want to discuss how you actual do the alchemy." She turned to Ed. "You mentioned something about doing alchemy without an array. I assume that's your special talent and that all other alchemist need an array to do their alchemy. What is it, and what does it do?"

Ed smiled a bit. He wanted to get away from talking about his past and the Philosopher's Stone. Although he was still afraid of what their future might be at NERV, he pushed those thoughts aside for now. Especially since he knew that their fate was no longer in their hands, at least right now. "Alchemy arrays are Transmutation Circles that are used by almost every alchemist to perform alchemy. While there are many different shapes and designs to them, most allow the user to alter anything they have into anything they want. Well, within their skill level of course."

Ritsuko was writing this all down. "I see. And you two have…"

Roy and Armstrong showed their alchemic circles on their glove or gauntlet.

Ritsuko studied the design of their arrays. "So, those can be used to make alchemy right? Show me."

_**-Later…**_

Commander Ikari's Office

Gendo Ikari was sitting at his desk with Kouzou Fuyutsuki standing next to him. Standing across from them was Ritsuko who was holding her clipboard. Gendo held his hands in front of his mouth as he and Kouzou stared into the computer screen in front of him. It showed the replay of the alchemist's demonstration in one of the open testing facilities at NERV. First, they are shown Roy Mustang's ability to manipulate a spark and turn it into an inferno destroying his target, an empty jeep, at the end of the room. Next, they see Armstrong bash a rock; this created sparks that fly towards the end of the hanger where it destroys a jeep. After that, they see Ed clasp his hands and create a wall, blowing up another jeep on the far side. Missing from the tape though was Al. Although Ritsuko knew that he was able to do alchemy as well, and wanted to further research his 'soul transmutation', she decided not to have him demonstrate and be shown to Commander Ikari. Since he wasn't a part of the military, there was no reason to involve him with NERV.

Gendo was intrigued by this video, although his voice didn't reveal anything of that matter. "So, there is a reason why Captain Katsuragi brought them here. Remind me to congratulate her for this find."

Kouzou was also watching the video. When it was done, he turned to Ritsuko. "So, are you saying that there is a scientific explanation for all of this?"

"In a strange sort of way, yes. There is an odd scientific logic behind all of this." Ritsuko replied in a matter of fact tone. "Although I still haven't figured out how they are doing it, they do seem to be bound by rules that are quite scientific in nature. For example, their Rule of Equivalent Exchange is similar to our Law of Conservation of Matter. They can't create something without giving something in return. For example, Colonel Roy Mustang could only create that inferno first by creating a spark, then feeding it with oxygen around him."

"Since it is alchemy they are using, can they change a substance into something else?" Kouzou asked.

Ritsuko nodded. "From what they said, yes. However, only really skilled alchemist can do that. Otherwise, they would simply make, say, a metal pan into a sword for example."

"Can anyone use alchemy?" Gendo replied in the same tone. "And is this alchemy useful for our purposes?"

"According to them, anyone can learn alchemy since to them, learning alchemy is like learning science since, it is science to them." Ritsuko flipped through a number of her notes. "However, that's supposing that it isn't unique to the world that they came from. I'll have to run a few more test to be sure." She flipped few a few more pages before continuing. "As for whether or not it is useful, the Magi haven't figured that out yet. Although according to the Magi, there is a possibility that the Evas themselves could use it from the data that they provided. Although the possibility of that is currently 0.000008 percent."

Gendo was impressed with their skill. However, there was only one thing that he was interested in this whole affair. "And what do you know about this, Philosopher's Stone?"

'There it is.' Ritsuko thought. Ritsuko looked into Gendo's eager eyes before she replied. "Well, according to Edward Elric, the Philosopher's Stone can give a user the ability to literally ignore the laws of alchemy. That's liked us acquiring something that would ignore the very rules of science. Even making it possible to, bring someone back from the dead. However, this is all theory according to them. He also mentioned that there haven't been a confirmed report that this stone exist."

"Yet." Gendo seemed to smile. However, if he was smiling, Ritsuko couldn't see it since his hands where covering his mouth. "From your report that they have gotten close to creating one. Even producing 'fakes' that while don't have the power of a 'true' Philosopher's Stone, still enhanced their alchemic power. Also, this Edward Elric has been researching it for a while right?"

"That is correct." Ritsuko replied.

Gendo liked what he was hearing. "Is there a way that we could recreate the stone here?"

Ritsuko wasn't completely sure how to answer it. "I…it might be possible. But only they can even being said research."

"Then let them." Gendo hastily replied. "If we acquire the Philosopher's Stone, the Angels won't stand a chance." 'However, that is not a sole reason for wanting it made.'

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes sir. That might be the case. However, Ed mentioned that it might take human lives to make it. He, and the others are unwilling to do such a thing."

"As are we." Gendo grinned. "If it takes human souls to make a stone, then we shouldn't make one. After all, we are humanities last hope here. We can't create something that would, go against that ideal now should we?"

Ritsuko didn't like Gendo's tone. However, she was going to play along anyways. "No we shouldn't sir."

"But there are other ways right?" Gendo persisted. "After all, in science, there is always more then one way to make something."

"That is true." Ritsuko agreed. She hoped that was true in this case at least.

"Well, then it is settled." Gendo looked into Ritsuko's eyes and smiled. "We will help research the Philosopher's Stone here, without the need of lives to be taken. In exchange for whatever they demand. Equivalent exchange right? Now, you're dismissed."

"Yes sir." Ritsuko turned around and exited his office.

* * *

End of Chapter 2

Oh crap that was long! Especially true if you are used to my 2000-3000 chapters for my Teen Titans stories. I'm really sorry about that! While again, I don't mind long chapters (by my standards at least), this story is turning out to be one long chapter after another! This chapter just kept going and going! Oh, and I could STILL write more at the end between Ritsuko and Gendo. However, I decided to cut that off right there and, if I need to, add it to the next chapter.

Now, one of the reason why this chapter was so long was the fact that I had to, well, I wanted the FMA group to basically explain their story to their fullest. It is also why this chapter was so, well, dialogue driven. I wanted the Eva side to understand everything about the FMA group. After all, if they didn't know a lot of the FMA side, then they would be stuck with too many questions and would be unable to continue in some cases.

Though this chapter was still hard to write. Well, in a way it flowed pretty well, and I did know what I wanted to put down. However, I didn't know in what order, or how I was going to go about it. For example, should Ed and Al tell their story when Ritsuko first finds out about Al or should they find out after they tell her about alchemy? It was all told of course, just the order was in question.

Also, for readers of my other Eva story, you'd note that this story isn't really following the Eva episodes. Well, okay, they are to an extent (this story began where the Second Episode began), but the next chapter will begin sometime during the second episode (notice that Shinji hasn't awaken yet in this chapter). So, there is definitely a break from the episodes in this story. That also meant that some characters (like Asuka) might take awhile to get there.

And hopefully, with shorter chapters. Oh, and believe it or not, this chapter IS shorter then the last one that topped out about 11,000 words. This one topped out at around 10,000 words. And if you take out the author notes, then it's only 9,000 words.

And when I update, it just happened to be a day before FFN is scheduled to go down. Heh. Well, please review when you get the chance! While I don't want to 'beg' for them, I do like to read them to see what you guys think!

Next Chapter…the FMA group is presented with a deal. Will they take it? And where will they stay in the Evangelion world? Until then…later!


	3. The Deal

-This is chapter 3 of my FMA/Eva story! Great huh? I don't normally do this for my stories…

-Okay I do. But usually not for a story that's this long (my first Teen Titan story had chapters that topped out at around 3000 words or so. So it was easier for me to release them at a pretty consistent state. At the moment, this story is averaging about 10000 words. At this rate, it will be my longest story in terms of words). So enjoy these fairly consistent updates since, this will probably not be the norm. ESPECIALLY when I have at least four stories needing updates. Now for this story…

-First, I'd like to amend my original assumption that they don't have electricity for general use. While it doesn't appear to be prevalent (they still need to use candles in some places), it isn't unusual either. After all, how could say, that one town in the first episode (or manga) have a radio without electricity? Also, in the episode/manga chapter that shows the interior of say, Central Headquarters, they have many lights at the top of the hallway. While I can't say that they are necessarily electric, unless they have a poor soldier going up and lighting each one, I'm going to assume they use electricity. Well, good news is this is one less thing I have the FMA group be surprised about. So they aren't goggling over something as simple as turning on the light.

-Also, if you noticed, the 'flower pedals' were actually metal flower petals. Something I realized when I was doing chapter 2 was that they simply didn't change one thing into another but made something (like metal) into something that had the same elements (like a sword). In order for it to be well, real flower pedals, that would require a change to the atomic structure of molecular that could only be achieved by the Philosopher's Stone. Real or fake (although the source I used said that it would require a really skilled alchemist. Maybe it is both? Especially since real or fake, the Philosopher's Stone enhances alchemist). Anyways, in the meantime, there won't be any elemental changes for the time being.

-As for Roy and Ed telling everything, well, I was concerned about it too. Though I do have my reasons for having them tell most of their story, and exposing Hughes and himself to being Alchemist. And about the Philosopher's Stone…well…you'll see.

-As for Winry and Hughes, well, I know Winry is a VERY important part of the FMA story. AND, after I thought about it, she WILL somehow wind up in the Eva verse. However, I still say that her appearance in the first chapter would be too coincidental given the circumstances (I know she starts to show up more and more as the series, and I assume the manga, get to some end. But still, from what I've read and seen, she mostly stayed out of their way. And remember, after she went back to Risenbool, or Rizenbol whatever way you spell it, after Ed becoming an official State Alchemist, it would be at least 3 years before she sees them again). Now Hughes, yes, I did sort of stretch it by having him being there. But while he is mostly stuck doing a ton of paper work due to that fire (sort of forgot that. Heh. But I found a way out of it), it doesn't mean he's chained to it either. Explain more in this chapter…

-Oh, and I made up Southern Vale if you haven't noticed. Although I said it was to the west of Central, that's not really important. All you need to know about this fictional town (for this world at least) was that it's close to Central, and why Hughes was there.

-Oh, and I'm hoping not to get TOO technical here given that, that sounds like I know something about the subject! That, for the most part, I don't. However, given that Ed is a scientist, and so is Doctor Akagi…eh.

-And one last thing, if you notice, I use the '' for thoughts and emphasis of specific words. Especially since I already use italics for written words and can't use them for thoughts or emphasis. Well, I could use another symbol but given FFN's constant upgrades (that seem to actually reduce the number of symbols I could use), this will have to do.

-Dang! I was hoping to keep the AN to one page (according to MS word). Didn't happen. All well. On with the story!

* * *

NERV Headquarters - Examination Room

"Don't worry Al, this won't hurt a bit." Ritsuko pushed a button and the machine over Al's body started moving. "This machine will check the inside of your body. Well, at least your armor body."

Ritsuko, Ed, Roy, Riza, Hughes, and Armstrong were all in the control area of the examination room. Separating them and the CAT scan was a wall with a large window. Next to the window was a door into where the CAT scan was. Al was being run through the machine. They checked to see if there was anything unusual about him being a suit of armor.

Ed looked at the image that it was producing on the 'computer screen' that Ritsuko Akagi called it. Although he was given a basic rundown on what exactly a computer was, at least the best Ritsuko could explain without turning it into a Computer Science course, he still found the machine quite fascinating. 'I wonder what this thing could do?' Right now, this 'thing' was making an image on the computer.

"Good thing this was a CAT scan and not an MRI scan!" Misato commented offhand.

"MRI scan? What's that?" Ed asked curiously.

"Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner." Ritsuko answered. "If we had used that, well…"

"Yeah." Ed returned his attention to Al. "I see why it would be bad." Although he was curious exactly how an MRI worked exactly, given that it would require magnetism as the name implied, it was obvious why they wouldn't use it on Al.

"Hmmmmmm." Ritsuko looked at the picture in front of her. "Al's metal body is interfering with the scan. However, from what I can gather, I see nothing unusual with it."

"Nothing?" Misato asked with quite a bit of curiosity.

"Nothing." Ritsuko added. "I mean, the most amazing thing would be the fact that it was even moving in front of our eyes, but that's the most we could find unusual about it. Otherwise, it's just a piece of armor."

"Really?" Misato looked at the picture.

"Yup." Ritsuko sighed. "You could probably file this under code 601."

"601?" Ed turned to Ritsuko when he heard her say that. "What does that mean?"

Ritsuko eyed Ed. "Well, it is simply the system's code for cannot be analyzed. There are just a few things beyond our understand."

"Well, it isn't quite beyond our understanding…" Ed turned and stared at his brother through the other side of the window. Although in a way, even that wasn't entirely true. After all, they haven't exactly figured out what the human soul was. And it was this that was keeping his brother in this world.

Riza, Hughes, Armstrong, and Roy were all also staring at the image. Not that they could figure out what all the colors meant or what not, just the fact that this machine could make such and image, AND have the image move amazed them.

"It…moves!" Riza watched as the image changed showing each depth of Al. She looked back to see if there was a projector like it was a movie. She then shook her head as realization hit her. "If it was a projector, then I would be blocking the image." She then turned back to the machine. "Then that means the images are being produced…on the other side of this box." She looked at the console holding the computer screens.

"I haven't seen anything like it in all my life." Armstrong pushed Riza to the left a bit to get a better look. "You could see what's inside! Well…what's not inside at least."

"We need something like this at Central." Roy commented.

"Do you even know how to use it Colonel?" Hughes questioned as he pushed the others so he could get a better look at the image.

"No." Roy admitted. "But does it matter?"

Misato eyed the Amestris soldiers looking at the computer screen with their noses nearly touching the screen. She kept herself from giggling as she watches this group act like kids in a candy shop. "I can't wait till they discover the television!"

Ritsuko grinned. She went into the CAT scan area and got Al.

Al got up from his position and walked over to where the others were. "So Doctor, what did you find?"

Ritsuko looked into Al's eyes and sighed. "Well, nothing really. You're just a piece of armor."

"Just armor?" Al eyes seemed to sadden after hearing this.

Ritsuko shook her head. She did note Al's change in expression at least, she thinks she sees a change. 'I think he looks sadder. Kind of hard to tell given the lack of facial expressions, but he does seem to be sadder after I told him he was just a piece of armor.' She thought about what this meant. 'So, he has been having trouble dealing with his humanity it seems. Maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt…' She thought sadly. Then she looked closely at the image again as her eyes widened a bit as realization hit her. "Well, there does seem to be an electrical resonance centering on this point." Ritsuko pointed to it.

Ed looked at the picture again. Well, after pushing aside Riza, Roy, Hughes, and Armstrong who were blocking his path. He grinned. "That's where the seal is that I used to bind Al to the armor."

"So, you're saying that's where you sealed his soul to the armor then?" Misato asked as she looked at the faint electrical resonance surrounding the X-ray image.

Ed nodded.

Ritsuko smiled a bit. "Well, so there is something here then!" She turned to Al who seemed to be thinking about this new revelation. "You have a human soul Al! Remember that!"

Al's eyes were wide. 'I'm…I'm human!' "Thank you Doctor!"

"No need to thank me!" Ritsuko added. "Just doing my job!"

Ed smiled at this. He knew his brother had been having problems with his humanity. At least this, he hoped, would ease some of that fear.

Ritsuko smiled then turned to Ed. "Now it's your turn Edward."

Ed snapped back to reality. "Eh?"

-Later… 

"For a State Alchemist, he sure is skittish." Ritsuko commented as she examined the image.

Al rubbed the back of his head. "Uh hehehe. Well, that's my brother!"

Ed was a little embarrassed. "Al, don't say that!"

Roy grinned. "For all the bravado he shows, he's still a kid at heart!"

"Speak for yourself Colonel." Ed's eyes narrowed.

While all that was going on, Ritsuko was examining the image from the CAT scan. "Fascinating! It's amazing the way your artificial arm works!"

Ed turned his attention away from a grinning Roy to Ritsuko. "What about my arm?"

Ritsuko turned her head to see her current subject in front of her. "It's both amazingly simple, yet complicated. I assume it works fairly close to a real arm right?"

Ed looked at his arm. "Yeah I guess so."

Misato looked at the image. "Whoa! All the wires…"

"Are hooked up to a specific nerves and muscles that moves a specific part." Ritsuko added. "It's like this arm was made with only parts found in the 1930s. No electronics, no sensors, nothing! Just some metal plates, some nuts and bolts, and some wires. Even then, our current robotic prosthetic limbs would have trouble matching this!" She looked at Ed and smiled. "Whoever was the mechanic that built you this arm must've been a genius."

Ed smiled as he thought about the girl that was still in the other world. "Yeah. A genius."

-Later…

NERV Headquarters - Empty Room

Misato, Ritsuko, and the Amestris group were all in an empty room. This room was made out of concrete with no windows or cameras. Only a single light in the center illuminated the room.

"I hope we're done with the experiments without some sort of deal in place." Ed frowned. "While I was willing to put up with it, we're also…"

Ritsuko waved him to stop. "Agreed. I'm sorry about putting you through this without a formal agreement. But I wanted this little examination out of the way before you 'officially' work for us."

Roy cocked his head to the side. He was curious with what Ritsuko meant by that. "Why's that?"

"I'll get to it." Ritsuko reached into her coat pocket and took out a piece of paper. "We want you to see if this alchemy can be useful for our efforts at NERV. As well as research and eventually make this Philosopher's Stone. But we know you won't do it for free so to speak. So, what do you guys want?"

Roy grinned. "Simple really. First, we want a way home. Nothing unusual about that I assume?" Roy watched Ritsuko shake her head before he continued. "Also, we don't want to be placed in direct danger if we have to. While we are used to life threatening situations due to all, well…" Roy instantly corrected himself. "Most of us being in the military, and are willing to work with NERV here for the research of alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone, we do not want our lives to be placed in unnecessary danger. Especially from your, experiments so to speak."

"That." Ed interrupted. "And the use of the Philosopher's Stone IF, and this is a big IF, we ever make it. Remember, no one has actually…"

"I understand." Ritsuko interrupted Ed as she stepped back. She assumed he wanted it to get his brother's body back. And maybe even give him a new arm and a leg. Though Ed could get real limbs here simply by cloning, that still left his brother out since he currently lacked any existence of DNA in this world. 'Without his DNA, the only real possibility to get his body back would be the Philosopher's Stone. And that's supposing that it does what it really say it does.' "Now, hear my side…"

"Didn't you already tell us your side?" Ed asked incredulously.

"I did. But…" Ritsuko held her clipboard tighter. "It concerns the members of this group. First, since not everyone of you are alchemist, not everyone here is important to us."

"Hey!" Hughes spoke up since he was one of the non-alchemists in the group. "Just because…"

"I'm sorry." Ritsuko apologized to the group. "But our deal concerns alchemist. They can't be a part of this deal if they do not hold any special abilities that are useful for us."

"But…" Hughes checked his jacket. "I have some pretty great skills throwing knives…" As he continued to search, his jacket realization hit him. "Which they took away from me." Steams of tears poured down his face.

Ritsuko shook her head.

"But…" Riza didn't feel like being left out of this group if that was the case. "But then what would we do?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "The most I can do for you two would be to add you to security detail. But when it comes to the inner workings of NERV that is left to the rest of you. Roy Mustang, Alex Louis Armstrong, and Edward Elric."

"No ranks?" Roy asked as she read off the names.

Ritsuko shook her head. "Well, I could keep calling you Colonel but here, your rank means nothing to us. Instead, you'll all be private officers."

Misato showed a hesitated smile. "And…it would be a little strange having a Colonel having to answer a Captain."

"I understand." Roy nodded as he waited for what else Ritsuko or Misato had to say.

Ed eyed Roy. A devious grin appeared on his face. 'So, now Roy is our equals now huh?' After thinking about Roy's lost of status, Ed was going through the names and realized one was missing. "And what about Al?"

"Al?" Ritsuko replied as if it was new to her. "Well, since Alphonse Elric wasn't a 'State Alchemist', I saw no reason to include him in this deal of ours. Of course any information he provides about the Philosopher's Stone would be accepted, but he himself wouldn't be working directly with NERV either!"

Ed blinked in surprise. "But wouldn't your commander be interested in the fact that Al was just a piece of armor? The product of a soul transmutation?"

Ritsuko looked at Ed and replied as if nothing was out of place. "It would be if I told him but, I didn't."

Roy was stunned. While he was willing to give up a lot if it meant going back home, one thing he probably wouldn't have allowed was Al being turned into some experiment. Though he knew that he couldn't stop it either, he still would've done something to prevent it. But now it was sounding like he didn't have to worry about it anyways. "Why would you do that? Wouldn't the Commander be just a bit curious with the fact that we have a man in full armor? Never mind the fact that it is empty?"

Ritsuko nodded. "He would. But I think the information about alchemy, and the information about the Philosopher's Stone was sufficient to satisfy him. As far as he knows, he's a freak that wears armor that somehow stumbled into your group. And to make sure this information doesn't get out about him, I've ordered all members in the know how, those Section 2 guards for example, to not say a word of this to anyone. As for why I omitted that fact in my report to Commander Ikari, well, I didn't want Al to be involved with NERV if he didn't have to be. That and it was the insistence of Misato to keep him out of it."

Al was stunned. "You, you don't want me involve?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "This is why we had that little 'unofficial test' today to see what you were like inside. It was just for my benefit. Once you leave through NERV's door, you're done with us."

Ed blinked a few times. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're just letting him go?"

Ritsuko nodded. "I might not be the most caring person in the world, but I'm not that cold hearted either. I'm not going to turn Al into some guinea pig if he doesn't have to."

Al was sort of glad not to be involved with NERV. He wasn't sure what they would do, but it probably wasn't something good, especially given his experience with secret underground labs. However, does that mean he might be separated from Ed? "But I won't…"

"And you won't." Ritsuko answered, knowing exactly what Al was thinking. "You will still be with Ed on the surface. But you won't be anywhere near this facility."

Ed smiled. He knew that Ritsuko didn't have to do this. She could've just added Al to this deal and there was very little they could do about it. Well, they could try and make sure that they didn't do anything drastic of course. But even then, they weren't sure what NERV was capable of and what they could've done to Al. Now he didn't have to worry about it. "Thanks doctor."

"Don't thank me…" Ritsuko started. She turned to her violet haired friend. "You could thank Misato. Her persistence convinced me that having Al here wasn't worth it."

"Well, you could've still said no Ritsuko." Misato smiled. "See guys? Ritsuko can be a very reasonable selfless person!"

"It also means I have less paperwork for me to deal with." Ritsuko smiled. "First I have to work on the Evangelions, then I have to deal with this alchemy and see if they can be implemented in our program, and I have to help in the research of the Philosopher's Stone. Keeping Al here would just be more paperwork that I'm simply refuse to do!"

Misato smile faded. "I take that back."

Roy smiled. He liked this deal. "I'd say you have a deal here." Roy held out his hand.

Ritsuko smiled. "It's nice doing business with you!" Ritsuko shook Roy's hand.

"My pleasure." Roy smiled a bit. But he still had some questions. "Now, what exactly does NERV do?"

"Oh right! I haven't really gone into details yet have I? Well…" Ritsuko took out a few books from her coat and handed them to Ed, Roy, and Armstrong. "You can read it all in the NERV handbook."

Ed, Roy, and Armstrong started going through the handbook.

Hughes rubbed his chin. Unfortunately for him, he was semi-kept out of the loop. This while the others were reading the NERV manuals, minus Al and Riza, he found himself with a little free time on his hands. And with his free time, he started to go through what Ritsuko said. And one thing stuck in his mind. 'Commander, Commander Ikari. Shinji, Shinji Ikari.' He looked up and caught Ritsuko's eyes. "Doctor, you mentioned Commander Ikari. Is he Shinji Ikari's father?"

Ritsuko turned to him and nodded. "Yes. He is his father."

Al blinked. He had almost forgotten about that shy reserved boy they first met in this world. "Um, about Shinji, what happened to him?"

This time, it was Misato who answered. "He's currently in the hospital, unconscious."

"Hospital?" Armstrong looked at Misato curiously. "Why is he in the hospital? What did he do?"

Ritsuko sighed. "We're not quite sure. He was the pilot of the Eva that defeated the Angel. When we got to him, he was unconscious."

"Eva." Roy remembered the Doctor mentioning Evangelion before. He assumed that Eva was an abbreviation of Evangelion. But what was an Evangelion exactly? He looked through the handbook, but couldn't find a mention of it anywhere. "You mentioned Evangelion. I don't see it in here so what is it?"

Ritsuko was biting her lip. "Umm, well, you won't find it mention in there…"

"Look," Roy's expression turned serious. "If we are to work together, we need to know everything about what you have been working on. We can't determine if our alchemy could be useful to you if we don't know exactly what it would be used for." Roy turned to look at Riza, Hughes, and Al. "If it helps, you can send these three away before you tell us."

"Colonel?" Riza looked stunned at Roy. Although she knew why he was doing this, it still didn't feel right that she might be separated from them.

'Well, the media pretty much knew the general idea what the Eva was and what it did. Not all the details of course, but enough so that it wasn't a secret. And he was right, they can't help us use alchemy if they don't know what we've been doing.' Ritsuko turned to Roy. "That wouldn't be necessary. What I'm going to show you, the general public pretty much has an idea of what it is. Although I won't tell you any specific details until later, I can at least do this. If you come with me, I'll show you exactly what we're working on."

-Later… 

Eva Cage

"Whoa!" Ed leans on the railing as he stared at the massive figure in front of him. "This thing…"

"Is Eva Unit 01." Ritsuko answered to the eager bunch in front of her. "The armor is currently being replaced after it was damaged in the Angel attack earlier this evening."

Armstrong looked the machine up and down. He was mighty impressed. "This is the largest machine I have ever seen!"

Misato grinned. "Feeling inadequate big fella?"

Armstrong eyed Misato before taking off his shirt. "Inadequate? Why would I feel inadequate when I have these!" Armstrong started posing, flexing his muscles, and so forth, you know the routine. "My physic has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

Misato face faulted. "He did it again."

Ritsuko grinned a bit. "If you say so…"

"Angels." Al leaned in close to Ritsuko. "Exactly Doctor, why are they called Angels?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "Well, many believe that these are the Angels that you have read in books and legends. They believe that they are the messengers of god, and the message that they were bringing was the end of all humanity. I don't really know if that's the case or not, nor do I care what they are called. However, one thing we do know is that they are a threat to humanity and that they must be stopped."

Misato knew that Ritsuko was feeding them bullshit, well, half bullshit. 'That's exactly why they are called that. Maybe not the full story, but that's the basic reason they are called that! Don't really know my ass!' However, Misato had no reason to correct her. Although she hated to admit it, but there is some value to keeping a little information hidden from then for a while. Then again, if information can be kept from them, what about keeping it from her? 'Which begs the question, how much do I really know about the Angels?'

"We've really stepped into something then." Hughes replied. "Well, whatever reason why they are called Angels, at least you defeated it this evening."

"Yeah." Al commented. "That reminds me, how many Angels were out there this evening?"

Ritsuko turned to Al. "One."

"One?" Ed looked at Ritsuko funny. "But you said that this Eva, or whatever it is called, destroyed an Angel! What about that massive blast we saw earlier?"

Ritsuko grinned. "It didn't do anything to it!"

The Amestris group all stared at Ritsuko, stunned and with their mouths wide open.

Roy was taken aback. Like everyone else, he saw the power of the blast first hand. "It didn't do anything?"

Ed was at a lost for words. "But…but…but…"

Misato tapped her cheek as if she was remembering back to the incident. "Well, the Angel was slightly wounded in the attack, if you can call it that. From the footage I've seen, it got what we might call sunburn? But it was back in fighting shape in no time after a short healing process."

"And why this was created!" Ritsuko gestured towards Eva Unit 01. "Conventional weapons couldn't penetrate the Angel's AT Field."

'Scary to think that the weapon that caused that explosion would be considered a conventional weapon.' Roy mused. 'Now, what was an AT Field?' "AT Field? What's an AT Field?" Roy asked.

"Absolute Terror Field!" Misato added. "It's an, energy shield of sorts. It's called that, as Ritsuko has already stated, because conventional weapons couldn't penetrate it."

"Absolute…Terror?" Hughes said. "Straight to the point I see."

Roy looked at the machine in front of him. Oddly, it seemed to be, alive in a way. "So, you created this thing to counter that AT Field. And what exactly did you do to counter it?"

Ritsuko nodded. "You'll find out more when you officially start working for me! Then maybe we can have Shinji Ikari demonstrate exactly what we did."

"Shinji Ikari." Roy repeated the name. "So, this is why Commander Ikari called Shinji here wasn't it?"

Ritsuko's smile faded. "For the most part, yes."

Ed frowned. "Did he even give him any training before he was placed into this thing?"

Ritsuko and Misato were silent for a while.

Finally Misato answered. "No."

"No?" Ed frown deepened. "Some father he is. They haven't seen each other for over three years, and when he does contact him, it's so that he can be used as a pilot for this thing? And not just that, he was used to pilot this thing without any prior training whatsoever?"

"If you put it in those terms, yes, that's true." Ritsuko replied with a lowered voice. "And I don't like this anymore then you do Edward. However, Shinji was for the most part our last hope. Very few people can pilot an Eva."

Ed still didn't like the answer. "How many pilots are there exactly?"

"There are three pilots including Shinji." Ritsuko responded in a 'matter of fact' tone.

"So that's what you meant when you said, 'Third Child'." Ed replied. His scowl deepened. "Shinji's the third pilot. Not a lot of alternates if he decided not to fight huh?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "No, not a lot I'm afraid."

Hughes was rubbing his chin with this new news. From the fact that Shinji was referred as the 'Third Child', does that mean the other pilots are as young as him? And who were the other pilots? "Since Shinji is the 'Third Child', who are the other pilots?"

Ritsuko listed off their names. "The first pilot, the First Child, is Rei Ayanami. The second pilot, the Second Child, is Asuka Langley Sohryu. And, as you have already met, the third pilot, the Third Child, is Shinji Ikari."

"And how come Shinji fought last night instead of either Miss Ayanami or Miss Sohryu?" Armstrong spook with his deep voice.

Misato sighed. "Well, Asuka is currently stationed in Germany with Unit 02 so she's unavailable. And Rei, well, she was injured during her…training exercise."

Hughes frowned. "So barring a miracle, Shinji was brought in to save the world."

"Pretty much." Ritsuko replied.

Al was thinking about why there were only three pilots. "And exactly why was Shinji and the others chosen to pilot these things? Shinji doesn't look like a fighter to me."

Misato shrugged. "We're, not quite sure either. All we know is, that all three pilots were born 9 months after Second Impact which happened 15 years ago."

"15 years ago?" Riza's eyes widened. "Then that means that all the pilots…"

"Yeah." Ritsuko nodded. "Again, we don't know why. But it might have to do with Second Impact."

"And it's also why we don't have a lot of pilots to work with." Misato frowned.

"There are, also other reason why we don't." Ritsuko added. "But I'll save it when the others are not here."

"Second Impact." Ed's curiosity peeked when he heard that. Especially since they kept mentioning it. "What exactly is Second Impact?"

"Hmmmmmm." Ritsuko pondered about what she should say about it. Finally, she settled on the short, simple, and mostly true answer. "It's the one event that forever changed this world. The first Angel caused a massive explosion in Antarctica, which is our South Pole if that helps you understand. It wiped out two thirds of all humanity on the Earth and is why we are developing ways to fight them. I'll give you more details later."

"Second Impact." Ed was absorbing this new information. "So this is why you are fighting these, Angels."

"That's correct Ed." Ritsuko replied. "Look, I told you that I'm not exactly happy with the situation that we're in. But we have to deal with it the best we can."

Ed was still not happy about this either. But again, he understood the situation completely. He nodded. "Sometimes we have to do what we have to do."

Al sighed. 'Yeah.' However, he wanted to go back to the discussion about the Second Impact. Why was it the second? "About the Second Impact again, why is it called Second Impact?" Al asked with curiosity. "Was there a First Impact?"

"Correct." Misato confirmed. "Although the first one was not caused by an Angel. First Impact happened about 65 million years ago that was caused by a meteor. It hit the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs." Misato answered. When she received blank stares from the group, she decided to add a little more to her answer. "Well, before humanity roamed the Earth, the world was dominated by these massive reptiles called dinosaurs. They ruled the Earth, so to speak, until a meteor, a…very large rock from space, struck the Earth. The Dust that it caused blocked out the sun, killing the plants, and ninety percent on the planets species!"

Ritsuko grinned. She started clapping. "Impressive school lesson Misato! Maybe if this job isn't enough, you can apply for the local school!"

Misato frowned and crossed her arms. "Oh shut up! The kid asked a question, and I answered it!"

Roy leaned over the railing. "So this is supposed to prevent the Angels from wiping out humanity. To prevent Third Impact I assume?"

"Yup!" Ritsuko nodded. "And that's exactly what we're calling that event that we are trying to avoid. Now if you excuse us…"

-Later…

NERV – Temporary Living Quarters

The room was well lit though somewhat small. There were three bunk beds set up at opposing walls in the room.

"Until your permanent residence can be established, this will have to do." Ritsuko said to the group. "Though I am concerned about Al over there. It isn't like it is common for a guy in a suit of armor to go walking around."

Roy grinned. "Believe me, it isn't that common in our world either."

"I can probably guess that." Misato grinned. "And if we are to keep his secret between us, it wouldn't be wise to be attracting attention."

"After all, the Commander has more then one way to acquire information." Ritsuko added.

"As should be expected." Roy replied. "If I was the Commander, I wouldn't rely on just one person to acquire Intel."

Ritsuko nodded. Then she turned the subject away from the Commander, and back to their situation. "Now, the bathrooms are down the hallway. If you need help using them, well, you could ask a nearby guard. Although I'm hoping that they should be similar to what you have in your world."

Misato yawned. "Well, we should be going. We have to get up tomorrow and work on the remains of that Angel."

"Yeah." Ritsuko yawned too before she left. "Oh, and one last thing, try to avoid revealing things to the cameras when you're out. You probably have seen them. Those little devices that follow you around, has one lens…"

"Cameras?" Ed remembered seeing them around.

"You have cameras where you came from right?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yeah." Hughes replied. He took out his picture of Elysia. "And we even have ones that make movies. I saw this really stupid movie where the woman was um…" He looked at Ritsuko who stared at him with indifference. Obviously wasn't interested in extending this conversation too long. "Anyways, using them for security purposes? Maybe after the fact but…"

"Well, ours are a little more advanced then that." Ritsuko replied. "But it should be no different then what you have. Just that, ours are easier to record and in color too." As she looked closer at Hughes picture, she did notice one thing interesting. "Seemed that they could make color pictures where they came from. If your world is around the time I was thinking…bah! I'll save that for another day!" She yawned again. "Well, I'm going home. See ya guys tomorrow!"

"Bye Doctor and Captain Katsuragi!" Al waved them away.

After the door closed, they all turned to each other and discussed their future at NERV.

"Colonel," Ed was the first to speak up. "Why did you reveal that Armstrong and yourself were alchemist? You could've just allowed me to take the burden of helping them!"

"Why Fullmetal…" Roy grinned. "Did you really think I would allow you to have all the glory? Not to mention get on Captain Katsuragi's good side?"

Riza face faulted.

Ed frowned. "Is that all you think about?"

"Of course not Fullmetal." Roy grinned. "Seriously, if I didn't reveal Armstrong and my abilities, then we would've been useless to them. Much like First Lieutenant Hawkeye and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes are to them. That would've kept us out of the loop and away from any pertinent information they might have." Roy eyed Ed. "At least, for Armstrong and I."

Riza dropped her head. She didn't like her position, but then again, she didn't have much of a choice.

Armstrong nodded. He had his arms crossed as he sat on his bunk. He ducked a bit under the top bunk due to his height. "And if we were kept out of the loop, then we wouldn't be able to protect you if they were to ever do something to you Edward."

Hughes sat on his bunk and sighed. "Yeah. The best Lieutenant Hawkeye and I could do is to work as guards for them. Otherwise, you could say I'm on an extended vacation while my paperwork stacks up back in Central."

"That reminds me," Ed looked up at Hughes. "Why did you come down to Southern Vale while you had all that work to do?"

Hughes shrugged. "Felt like taking a break I guess. Also, Black Rose and his gang were quite a nuisance back in Central. Being the Good Samaritan that I am, I decided to help you guys catch them. Little did I know I would end up here?" Suddenly, he has images of what his desk might be like when he returned. "And with the amount of paperwork piling up, I'll never have a vacation for the next 50 years!" Streams of tears appeared on Hughes.

Roy grinned. "I wouldn't worry about that Hughes. Chances are, they probably think you're dead."

Hughes eyes lit up then frowned. "If they think I'm dead, then so would my daughter…" Then his eyes lit up again. "Wait, if they think I'm dead, then we have people working on my paperwork!" Hughes started to fantasies about what might be happening right now. Two of his underlings would be working on the tons and tons of paperwork that he would normally be doing. His daughter and wife would be crying over his grave. Suddenly, he shows up and everyone was hugging him and cheering him on. His two underlings would say that they proudly worked on his paperwork and that they were proud to do it while they thought he was dead. His daughter would say he's the greatest and how she missed him. "I'll return a hero!" Hughes made a triumphant pose.

**_Meanwhile…in another Universe…_**

Central Headquarters – Hughes' Office

Warren Officer Vato Falman dumps a stack of papers on his desk.

Sheska was walking by when she sees this. "Um, Warren Officer, why are you dumping all that on Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' desk? He's currently MIA."

Falman eyed Sheska. "If we didn't, then we'd be assuming he's dead. Do you want to assume that Lieutenant Colonel Hughes' is dead?"

"Eep!" Sheska thought about that. "No! He's still alive! I know it!"

"So do I and everyone else." Falman replied. "Don't worry. I'm confident he'll be back to work on all this."

Sheska nodded. "Yeah."

Falman smiled and left Hughes office.

Sheska looked at the paper-covered desk. "Please be okay Lieutenant Colonel."

**_Back in the other Universe..._**

NERV – Temporary Living Quarters

Roy was lying on his bed. "What I wasn't planning on talking about was the Philosopher's Stone." Roy eyed Al.

Al's eyes widen in embarrassment. "Uh…I'm sorry! Hehehe."

Roy closed his eyes. "Well, we can't do anything about that now. Besides, in exchange for us working on the Philosopher's Stone, NERV won't be bothering with you Al."

"Yeah." Ed smiled as his eyes became heavy.

"Colonel." Riza asked with a little concern in her tone. "What about Hughes and I? What are we going to do?"

"Find out tomorrow I guess." Roy yawned. "Right now, we should all get some sleep."

Al sat staring at the top of the bunk. He was lying on the bottom given that, well, he's a heavy piece of armor. Taking the top would be a little much. As he stared at the bed in front of him, his mind wondered to a certain boy they haven't seen for a while. "Brother?"

"Yes Al?" Ed yawned.

"Do you think Shinji is okay?" Al asked worried.

Ed was too tired to really give a complete answer. But he tried at least. "I'm…" He yawns. "Not sure. We'll just have to find out…" Ed fell asleep.

Al sighed. "I hope he's alright brother. I really do."

-------End of Chapter 3

Wooooooo! This chapter is actually shorter then the last one! And you should be lucky (unless you like long chapters). In fact, if I didn't stop it here, it would've been REALLY long. I originally planned on ending it with them meeting Commander Ikari, meeting Shinji again, and getting their new residence. But given how long even this part was, I decided that ending it right here instead. And it was this long even with my attempts to speed through some parts. Well, speed through by giving at least enough info, but still speed through them.

And at the rate I'm going, this story is going to be SUPER long! My other Eva story follows the episodes. This one, I'm still in Episode 2 according to the timeline. And I'll still be in it with the next chapter! Phew.

Oh, and while I try to keep the characters in character, well, not always easy. So I apologize if I make a mistake here and there. Also, while it was an overall easy chapter to write, trying to figure out what they should say and what, and what info either group should get, not easy. Hopefully, I didn't do a poor job on either front in this chapter.

Also, I'm sorry if the last two chapters seemed to be heavily dialogue driven. Not something I wanted to do, but my thinking, they can't do anything unless they know what they're doing. Also, since we're in the Evangelion world, the first few episodes were pretty info heavy. Broken up only by that Angel fight that, well, I mostly cut out here. Don't worry. Once we get the characters established in this world, it shouldn't be as talky as this one.

Oh, and you also got a taste of what's going on in the FMA world while this is happening. Expect it to be more, especially concerning Winry.

Next Chapter…well, I said that the question of where they will stay would be in this chapter. Never mind! Make that the next chapter!

(edit) This is the SECOND revision for this story. First one was where I changed the dialogue with Ritsuko and the movie. This time? Cut some of the AN, and a full proofread. Second proofread in fact. What did I discover? Well, other then the fact that this chapter actually didn't really help me in terms of making it fit with the correct continuity, I STILL caught TONS of grammar mistakes. Phew. Again, this is proof that I need to review chapters more then one time (or, get a beta reader).


	4. New Home

This is chapter 4 of my FMA/Eva story.

One thing I noticed while reading the manga, other then how similar AND different it is to the series (haven't finished reading them yet, AND it is a scanlation so it is a fan translation), Edward DID change one thing, rocks (in the series it was coal), and changed them into gold. Not a radical change as changing metal into something organic like flower petals, but still a change of elements. While the series sort of implied that it was a temporary thing (at least, I think it was. It might've been the same as the manga in this case), in the manga, Edward changed them back to rocks when he left Yoki with that deal. This implies that Edward CAN change one thing, like rocks, into another substance, like gold (which is illegal in the FMA world). Not an extreme change maybe, but still a change. So Ritsuko's comment that only skilled alchemist can do that, still true. Philosopher's Stone or not.

As for Sheska, well, I wasn't thinking that. Though in a roundabout way, you could say that. ;-)

As for the reports, don't know at the moment. One thing though is that I expect NERV to know exactly what they are writing. It wouldn't go very well, if Ed wrote a travelogue…when he isn't traveling very much. As for Roy, well, he has a little problem there explained in this chapter…

Oh, and while reading the mangas, I noticed ANOTHER potential pitfall to my story, in fact, it forced me to change Chapter 3. During the flashback in chapter 21, volume 5, Ed and Al mentioned that they seen a movie. Movie? Then they shouldn't be surprised then! And what about the computer? Well, they could still be surprised by that, but for different reasons. While not the same as modern day cameras of course, but something LIKE moving pictures shouldn't unusual either. Great. FMA world gets just a bit less different then the Eva worlds. Easier on me I guess (less stuff I can have them go "WOW! I haven't seen that before!"), but that means I had to change that line (and the X-ray portion) in the last chapter in order to keep it consistent.

Wow! Short AN for once (um, well, at least it only took one page)! On with the story!

* * *

NERV Headquarters – Cafeteria

It was the next morning. After wondering the headquarters for a while, being completely lost in the massive complex, the Amestris group was finally led to the cafeteria by Second Lieutenant Maya Ibuki. Nothing unusual about the cafeteria, well, except for the drink dispenser that almost crushed Ed when he was rocking it back and forth in his futile attempt at getting a coke (apparently he didn't realize that you have to PUT money into the machine before you push the button). Luckily for Ed, Armstrong was there to prevent the shrimp from getting any smaller. After that little incident, they all got their food at the counter. Their eyes widened as they saw the meals that were being served. While to everyone else, the meals were average at best, for the Amestris group; it was a totally new experience for them.

"This curry stuff is really good!" Ed said while shoveling curry-flavored rice into his mouth. "We should take some of this stuff back when we get home! Right PRIVATE Mustang?"

"Speak for yourself Fullmetal." Roy grinned at him. He too, was shoveling curry into his mouth. "I'm still a Colonel where we're from, and I'm still your superior."

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Ed happily took another bite of his curry. He was enjoying Roy's reduced status here. "Tell that to the Doctor!"

Armstrong finished off his plate. "Too bad the portions here are quite small."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting you another!" Hughes replied with a grin.

While Ed, Roy, and the others were having their banter, Riza simply stared at her food. Only eating it every once in a while. She didn't say much since last night.

Al was just sitting next to them given that he couldn't eat anything in his metal body. As he looked around the room, the other workers of NERV were staring at them. He shrank a bit in his position.

Roy turned to his female subordinate and noticed her quietness. He though, knew exactly why she was depressed. "Look, I'm certain that Captain Katsuragi or Doctor Akagi can assign you to the security force. I'm sure they will appreciate someone with your skill joining their ranks!"

Riza sighed. "It's not just that Colonel. It's also…" She stopped.

Roy waited for her answer. "It's also what?"

However, standing next to them was Misato. She gave a little cough, causing the group turn to her.

Misato stood over them and held an expression of indifference. She spoke in a strict tone. "The Commander wants to see you three." She indicated to the alchemist in the group.

NERV Headquarters – Hallway

The three, Roy, Armstrong, and Ed followed Misato down a corridor. "I heard that you guys got lost this morning trying to find your way to the cafeteria! Well, couldn't blame you! I got lost when I first came here. And I even had a map too!" Misato said in a more cheery voice then her strict tone before. '_And, I still get lost a few times. Heheh…eh_.'

"Yeah." Ed spoke up. "This place is huge!"

As they were talking, a girl in a medical bed, who was being pushed by a nurse, passed by them. All three stared at the injured woman who had a bandage covering one eye, and one of her arms in a sling.

Misato answered the question that was probably on all three of their minds. "That was Rei Ayanami."

"The First Child correct?" Armstrong spoke up as he looked for Misato for confirmation. She immediately confirmed his statement with a nod. "She seemed quite pale, and almost…fragile."

"You said she was injured during a training exercise." Ed frowned, as Rei was led to an elevator. "What guarantees that the same wouldn't have happened to Shinji? At least that girl had training."

Misato lowered her head and cast her eyes down. "None of course. But…"

"Yeah yeah yeah." Ed interrupted, still holding a deep frown. "You had no choice. I heard it before."

Roy didn't want this day to start like this. After all, these were the people he would be working with soon in order to implement alchemy, and hopefully, get them home. However, he was still curious how these particular pilots were chosen. Given what he knew of Shinji, and from the appearance of Rei, they weren't exactly what you would call, 'cream of the crop'. "Who exactly choose these pilots?"

Misato tapped her chin. "They were all chosen by the Marduk report! Don't bother asking me who they are or how they determine who pilots since, I do not know. All I know is, they were the ones that determined the three pilots."

Ed continued to stare at where Rei went. '_This just doesn't feel right. I hope to find out sooner rather then later to see what the hell is going on before it consumes us all.' _ Then, he turned back to what he presumed to be his future destination, and gave a cheery smile. "Well! Enough of that! Let's go and meet the Commander! We have things to do…people to see…"

Misato smiled. '_Guy seems to have pretty quick mood swings!_' "Well, here we go then!" She started walking towards the Commander's office when she stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. Shinji's awake now."

Ed stopped his advancement. "Is he alright?"

Misato smiled. "Yup! In fact, you three are going to meet him! He's currently waiting in Commander Ikari's office!"

Armstrong placed his hands on his cheeks. "Oh, a father and son meeting! I get misty eyed just thinking about it!"

Misato dropped her head again. "Yeah."

Ed saw Misato's change of expression. A face of contempt washed over him. His bias against the commander returned. '_Something tells me this meeting won't be a happy one._'

Commander Ikari's Office

Misato, Ed, Roy, and Armstrong all entered the strange room that was Commander Ikari's office. Above them was a strange diagram. Like, a kind of glowing mathematical tree of sorts. 10 circles in all, connected. At the bottom were feathery roots. In fact, the more Ed looked at it, the more familiar it appeared.

'_It looked like…no. It couldn't be!_' Ed was remembering the time when he saw the 'True Knowledge'. It was the one that enabled him to use alchemy without an array. Where he met, god. '_If it's the same design, then is this the connection between our two worlds? Is this why we were brought here when they failed to make the Philosopher's Stone? If that was the case, then why didn't we see him again? Or, at least, I see him? Was it because I've already seen 'True Knowledge'? But what about the Colonel or the Major? Shouldn't they have seen it then? What could all this mean?_'

Surrounding them was an opening overlooking the Geo Front. However, these design features didn't interest Roy much. It was however, the sheer size of the office that impressed him. This office was huge! Even Fuhrer Bradley didn't have this large of an office! Granted, having a huge mansion made it up, but still, I'm sure Fuhrer Bradley would still be jealous of an office like this! Roy certainly was. Though he wasn't exactly fond of the design above him. Unlike Ed, he had no idea what it could be.

'_I'd certainly take that thing out!_' Roy thought. As he looked at the image, he suddenly had an idea of having a nice huge picture of a woman in 'respectable' clothing above him. '_Certainly get rid of the creepy feeling I'm getting here._'

As the group walked in, Ed saw Shinji off to the sides, standing and waiting for his father. Ed waved at him. "Hey Shinji! Remember us?"

Shinji turned when he heard his voice. "Oh hi! I remember you! You're the short one! Ed…" Shinji stopped himself as Armstrong and Roy were forcibly holding Ed back. Shinji immediately shrank down. "I'm sorry!"

Misato giggled. "Better be careful Shinji! You know the pip-squeak is sensitive about his height." She covered her mouth in mock embarrassment. "Oops! Did I let that out?"

Ed was now really incensed. "Who are you calling a pip-squeak you two timing…" Ed froze as he heard the sound of footsteps getting close to him.

Gendo Ikari walked up to the three alchemists. Each step echoed through his mostly empty office. His subordinate, Kozou Fuyutsuki, followed him in.

Gendo stared down at Edward and Roy with his cold glare. He couldn't do that to Armstrong though since he had to, stare up for him. "So these are the three alchemist that I have been hearing so much about. I am Commander Gendo Ikari of NERV. Standing behind me is my second in command, Deputy Commander Kozou Fuyutsuki!"

Ed did not like this man one bit. He looked into his eyes, and all he could see was coldness. Ed turned to see Shinji's reaction.

Shinji turned his head away, avoiding any eye contact with his father.

Ed knew they had issues to be settled. And since they're here then… He scowled at the Commander in front of him. '_They're not here to patch things up since we're here._'

"That is right Commander! I'm Co…Private Roy Mustang at your service." Roy saluted Gendo.

"I see you know your place at NERV already, Private Mustang!" Gendo looked down at Roy. "Although, to put you at ease, you're not a private either! You'll find your ranks when you are given your official documents."

"Although the ranks are slightly different here, I'm sure that even if I had kept my rank, I would probably still be lower then you anyways." Roy remarked. Roy eyed Ed at this moment, and he sees that Ed had a silly grin on his face. "By the way, this is Edward Elric, and Alex Louis Armstrong."

Armstrong saluted Gendo. "I'm proud to be at your service."

Edward just stared at him. He gave a low indifferent voice that contradicted his statement. "Pleasure meeting you Commander."

"Pleasure is all mine. I have seen all your skills." Gendo continued. "I am mighty impressed by what you three can do. Especially with what the short one can do." He stared down at Ed.

"Who are you calling sho…?" Ed was waving his arms around like a madman. All the while, both Armstrong were both trying to keep him quiet and hold him down.

"I apologize for Mister Elric's behavior Commander." Roy gave an embarrassed smile. "You see, he's a little sensitive about his…height."

"I see." Gendo gave Edward another cold stare. "I'll keep that in mind the next time we meet." He turned to all three of them. "I expect great things from the three of you." He turned around and started to leave.

Ed turned to look at Shinji. Shinji was fighting back tears that threatened to fall. '_That bastard!_' "Excuse me Commander Ikari! You forgot to acknowledge someone!" Ed screamed out in contempt.

Gendo and Kozou stopped their advancements. A heavy silence descended room.

Misato began fidgeting as the agonizing silence took hold. '_Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?_'

Roy and Armstrong were now deeply afraid. Well, neither one really showed it…much. But neither one was sure what the Commander was going to do next either.

Ed was seething with rage as he waited for what Gendo Ikari would do next.

Finally, after a tense silence, and without turning back, Gendo spoke to Shinji. "Will you pilot Eva Unit 01 from now on?"

Shinji didn't look up. "Yes father."

"Good." Gendo continued to walk out of his office. "That's all I wanted to hear." The door slammed shut as he left.

Ed shut his automail fist as it started shaking with rage. "IS THAT ALL YOU'RE GOING TO SAY? HE'S YOUR SON!" Ed was ready to kick that arrogant and heartless bastard if it wasn't for both Roy and Armstrong holding him back.

Misato just stood in silence. She too, wasn't happy about this situation. '_Bastard!_' But she knew that she couldn't do anything. And looking at the three, at least the two adults knew as well. '_I hope the shrimp is careful with what he does._'

After Gendo and Kozou left, another man came in. "The Commander sent me to give you all your proper documents and permanent residence." He handed them an envelope filled with made up personal information, and an address of where they would be staying in this world.

Edward looked at the papers. There was one for him, and even one for Alphonse, who was noted as being 'older' than Edward. '_Can't be helped! It would look real ackward if people thought he was younger due to his…_' Ed shut his eyes as he kept mentally kicking himself over the 'handicap' he was trying not to think about. Continuing in the documents, they were apparently born in Bonn, Germany. Their parents were 'conveniently' killed in a car accident. Both had a guardian that worked for the NERV branch there, and was recently transferred to Japan, coincidently, during the time Shinji arrived. Apparently Ed, following in his guardian's footsteps, joined up with NERV to do some research given his amazingly gifted mind. However, due to an accident in one of the labs, he lost both an arm and a leg. The accident also caused Al's injuries, though this was supposed to be, top secret. '_Top-secret information for an event that never happened._' Ed mentally noted as he continued to look at his documents. It also contained a security pass, which noted the he was an Ensign, but only for Ed. Al was considered a civilian that, due to 'extremely sensitive skin' caused by the non-existent accident, and a 'strange fetish' of wearing armor, this gave him reason NOT to be bothered by the police. Both had their picture there, though Al's picture was obviously faked. His picture showed a human face appearing through a helmet less armor in what was apparently a darkened room. The picture showed a fake pale face with a few burns on it. Ed was a little surprised by the fake picture since it looked like it could really be his brother! A bit, not in good condition, and not necessarily what Al would've looked like at this age, but definitely someone related. '_I wonder how they faked it?_' Then he noticed something under guardianship…

Roy and Armstrong, relieved that their meeting with the Commander went, mostly smoothly, no help from Edward Elric of course, they too, looked at the documents handed to them. Roy raised an eyebrow. Inside was a security card that showed his picture and his rank. He apparently received a promotion without even knowing it. He, Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang, worked for the German branch of NERV until his recent transfer to Japan along with his wife, Riza Hawkeye… "WIFE?" Roy's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Well, they had to come up with a reason why a civilian would be a part of your group." Misato cheerfully replied.

"I am so going to be fucked over this," Roy said as he was imaging what horrible situation was going to happen when he tells Riza their new identities. He could just imagine running in fear as Riza, with a machine gun, was shooting his poor butt behind him. And somehow, he fails to dodge a bullet, hitting a certain important part of him. Later, due to massive blood lose, he dies and was given a nice funeral for him with full honors. He could even imagine his epitaph. _Colonel Roy Mustang. Wanted to be Fuhrer, but died by massive blood loss below the waist instead. See Fuhrer Riza Hawkeye for details. _"Can't you make her a guard or something?"

"We could." Misato replied with a mischievous grin. "But then it still wouldn't change the fact that she's your wife in our little scenario. After all, who would transfer to NERV for guard duty?"

Roy hung his head. "My life is flashing before my eyes."

While Roy received an unexpected promotion, and a…wife with his transfer, Armstrong wasn't as lucky. He too, was assigned to the NERV branch in Germany before transferring to Japan. Although here it simply stated that he was a former body builder model turned scientist, his rank was that of Warren Officer, it still put him above Edward, but under Roy. As he looked through the information handed to him, he noticed something else. "Edward Elric…"

Ed slowly turned his head to Armstrong with a little fear. "Yes?"

Armstrong gave Ed a commanding hug. "YOU CAN CALL ME DADDY FROM NOW ON!"

Ed's eyes nearly bulged out. Not only from the shock of being with him, but Armstrong's hug was so strong, Ed couldn't breath. "MAJOR…"

"I always wanted to have children!" Streams of tears poured down Armstrong's face. "Now I will take care of you and Al!"

"Can't breath…" Ed was struggling under Armstrong's embrace.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh how nice!" Misato giggled. "Big guy has a heart!" She smiled until she noticed Shinji looking at his papers. '_I wonder what's his status?_'

While Ed and Armstrong were having their lovely dubbie, Roy looked at Hughes's papers. Like Riza, he too, was marked as civilian. However, in this case, NERV made him a journalist working for, of all places, NERV. Though he was still a civilian, apparently, to help with their PR, NERV 'secretly' hires journalist to make it appear that they are giving everything they can. "Well, at least he's sort of on the inside I guess. But journalist huh? Knowing Hughes, and given that this is an organization that wants to keep things hidden from the public, sounds like a recipe for disaster."

After struggling free from Armstrong's grasp, and kicking him back to prevent another 'friendly hug', he turned to the man that gave them their papers. "Why couldn't Al be my guardian?"

The man turned to him. "I was not the one who determined your identity and your living arrangements here."

Ed turned back to a beaming Armstrong, while he had streams of tears raining down his face. That's when his mind snapped back to Shinji. His ears especially perked up when he heard what Misato said.

"You're living alone Shinji?" Misato asked with a tinge of shock in her voice.

"Yeah." Shinji replied in a low, almost reserved tone. "I'm used to it so it wouldn't be a problem for me!"

Misato dropped her head. '_Bastard wouldn't even take his own son in! There must be something I could do?_' Suddenly, she had an idea.

All three of the alchemist in the room turned to Shinji.

Ed scowl deepened. "Bastard wouldn't even take in his own son!" He said to himself. Suddenly, he had an idea. "You know Shinji, if you want, you could stay with…"

"I'm taking him in!" Misato fervently replied.

The three alchemists, as well as Shinji, stood wide-eyed by Misato's request.

"You sure about this?" The man that handed them their documentation asked.

Misato nodded. "I have no problems taking him in." She turned to Shinji. "There's nothing wrong with this right Shinji?"

Shinji blinked a few times before he realized he was asked a question. "Huh? Oh, no! No problem at all."

Armstrong had streams of tears flowing down his eyes. "Oh Captain, you're so selfless!"

"I'll say." Roy replied. He looked back at Misato, then at Shinji. '_You lucky dog._' "Hey Shinji! Mind if we trade places?"

Ed face faulted when he heard Roy's request.

Armstrong stared down at Roy. "Um, Col…Second Lieutenant Mustang, what about your wife?"

Now Roy face faulted. "She is not my…"

-Later…

NERV Headquarters - Undisclosed Room

"WIFE?" The normally reserved First Lieutenant, now civilian, Riza Hawkeye yelled. She stared daggers at Roy.

"Pipe down First Lieutenant!" Roy gritted as everyone in the next room turned to them. They were placed in a nominally safe room in which there were no cameras or other listening devices were fixed. However, it wasn't sound proof and the people in the next room could see what they were doing through the windows. While they couldn't hear them if they kept to a low voice, anything higher then that, could easily get out. "First Lieutenant, it wasn't like I choose this!"

"Wow Colonel…I mean Second Lieutenant! You bagged First Lieutenant Hawkeye huh? I knew you two would get married!" Hughes teased.

Roy turned to his so-called friend. He replied to him in a low threatening tone. "Hughes…"

"Second Lieutenant?" Ed was incensed. "You're still ranked higher then me?"

"What did you expect ENSIGN Edward Elric?" Roy grinned. However, that grin was short lived.

"And it's civilian Hawkeye now...Second Lieutenant Mustang and civilian Hughes!" Riza composed herself as she straightened up her jacket. "At least it was nice of the Captain to give me a gun permit. Especially since I'm currently not in any law enforcement agency. NERV, military, or civilian."

"She gave you…" Roy again saw his life flash before his eyes.

"Yeah. Civilian Hughes. I'm just a lowly journalist trying to ensure that NERV's secrets are kept just that huh?" Hughes gave a sigh. He looked at his press pass. "Well, I guess I'll still be visiting."

At the moment, Armstrong was hugging Al. "I'm going to take good care of you Al!"

Al was wide-eyed. At least, it appeared to be wide-eyed. "Um, Major, you know that this is just a cover right?"

Ed sighed. "Well, at least we know who we are and where we're staying."

"Yeah." Mustang eyed Riza who was still seething. "Too bad Shinji got the better deal. He's staying at Captain Misato's."

This seemed to piss off Riza even more. "What are you implying Second Lieutenant?"

"Oh no! Infidelity already!" Hughes patted his cheeks before turning, slightly more serious. "Remember Co…Second Lieutenant, you're a married man now! You shouldn't be straying to other woman! Especially with your wife in front of you! Not as good as my wife but still…"

"WE'RE NOT…" Riza composed herself again as everyone in the next room turned to them. "We're not married. And what do you mean not as good as your wife?"

Roy was trying to hold back a punch that was threatening to come out. "Co…civilian Hughes…"

However, Al stopped the conversation when he brought up the topic Shinji. "Wait, so Shinji's okay? And why is he staying at Captain Katsuragi's place? Why not his father? Wasn't he the Commander?"

Edward lowered his head. "Yeah. Shinji's okay, at least physically. He was 'meeting' with the Commander!" Ed emphasized meeting, and he specifically avoided using the term father. "The Commander only cared that Shinji would pilot that stupid weapon! He didn't even acknowledge his presence when we were there! I had to remind him of that! And to add insult to injury, the bastard wouldn't even take in his own son!"

The group was now in total silence. A pin drop could've easily been heard at this point.

Al lowered his head. He was beginning to feel more and more sorry for Shinji.

Hughes gritted his teeth. Now he really hated the Commander. He was, however, thinking back to the time when he investigated the Tucker incident. Tucker at least, might have the excuse that he needed to sacrifice his daughter to keep up his current living status and to stay within his order by Basque Gran. A horrible inadequate excuse of course, but at least he wasn't in charge of an organization! The Commander, with his power, couldn't find time for his son?

Finally, after standing in silence for a while, Armstrong spoke up. "Maybe it is for the best, for the both of them."

Roy didn't like it any better then the rest. But he had to agree to that. "Given the circumstances, I'd have to agree."

Edward lowered his head again. "Yeah."

At that moment, Ritsuko entered the room. "Wow! From what I was hearing, this place was full of commotion! Now it seemed like it just, died in here!"

They all wearily turned to Ritsuko.

"You could say that." Ed replied. He chuckled a bit trying to lighten the mood. "I guess everyone is just worried how we are going to do on the surface!"

Ritsuko smiled. "Not to worry. Since the Elric brothers and Warren Officer Armstrong live in the same apartment complex, I'm sending Second Lieutenant Maya Ibuki as your escort and, cultural advisor to you." She turned to the other group, Hughes, Riza, and Roy. "As for you three, we were able to find two apartments in the same building. It's close to Misato's apartment but she's currently taking Shinji to her place right now. So I've assigned Second Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga as your escort and cultural advisor."

-Later…

Maya, Armstrong, and Elric's Apartment Building

"And here is your apartment!" Maya smiled as she presented them their apartment. "I assume it is pretty empty right now so there's not much there at the moment. Though I believe NERV was kind enough to have a few basic furniture and cots for you to use." '_Certainly more then what they gave me! And I lived here!_' She mentally frowned as she looked up at the two tall men, one that stood as their guardian, and the other, was the poor man with the strange fetish, and skin disease. "It's a…little small, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Hehehe."

Armstrong shook Maya's hand. "It was a pleasure to have you escort us here!"

"Well, if you need me, I'm just two doors down this way!" She pointed in one direction. "You could also knock to say hello too!" Maya shyly added.

Ed entered the small apartment. He was about to continue but stopped at the first step. "I'm supposed to take my shoes off right?"

"Well…" Maya began as she thought about her answer. "It isn't necessary I guess given that you're all foreigners, and this is your apartment, but traditionally, it was the way we've been doing it! Take off your shoes before the step, and then put on some slippers!" She looked inside and noticed that there were no slippers. "Or, walk barefoot is fine."

"Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with taking them off! Though Al there can't do anything with his problem." Ed took off his shoes and walked through the apartment.

Maya blinked as she saw his foot. "It must've been a horrible accident to leave you like that."

"Huh?" Ed turned back to Maya when he heard that.

"Your leg and arm." Maya frowned. "The accident in the lab at the NERV branch in Germany. It was also why your brother is the way he is."

Ed blinked before he realized about his fake life. "Oh! Oh yeah. It was horrible. Consequence of being a gifted kid genius! Heh! By the way, wasn't the part about Al's…"

Maya backed up a bit. "Um, I only quickly peeked! I know it wasn't something that…"

Ed smiled back at her. "It's okay! I won't tell the Doctor."

Maya sighed in relief. "Thank you Edward."

Al nodded. "Yeah, and about me…"

Ed lowered his head. "Don't worry Al. I'll get you back to the way you were! I promise!"

Maya smiled. '_These two seemed really close._' "I'm sure you'll find a way to cure Al of his skin disease. Oh, and maybe your height…"

Ed stopped and glared at Maya.

Maya remembered in the document that was given to her warned her that Edwards was, sensitive about his height. "I mean! I'm not implying that, you know, and…just hope you find a cure for Al! That's all!" She gave an embarrassed smile.

Ed calmed down, smiled again. "Yeah. I will find the cure." After he finished talking to Maya, he entered their new apartment. He flipped a switch that lighted the room. The apartment was mostly empty. And it was small, even for their standards. As he walked through the apartment, he noticed that each one could have a room to them self. Small rooms granted, but their own rooms to use. As he looked through the rooms, he noticed that the cots were on the floor. "Guess we'll all be sleeping on the ground for now on."

Armstrong looked at the telephone sitting on a desk. As he stared closely at it, it seemed similar, yet, different then the ones that they used in Amestris. For one thing, instead of a rotary, there were buttons. "Excuse my Second Lieutenant…"

"You don't have to be official with me here since I am at the moment, off duty. You can just call me Maya." Maya smiled at him.

"Maya then." He looked back at the telephone and then back to Maya. "So to make a call, you just push the buttons here?"

Maya blinked at the big guy's strange question. "Um, yeah. Haven't you used a phone before?"

"Yeah but…" Armstrong stopped himself. "Well, yeah! Um…"

Ed looked at this. He wanted to save the Major…ummm…Warren Officer of more embarrassment. "Oh, well you see, he's been still using those old rotary phones! Refuses to upgrade!"

Maya eyes widened in complete surprise. "You're kidding me! You're still using an old rotary phone? Those are antiques now! They haven't been used for decades!"

"Yes it's true!" Streams of tears poured down Armstrong's face. "I just gotten so used to the bells when a call comes in, the feel of the brass receiver on my skin, the movement of the dial as I rotate the number…"

"Um Armstrong," Al whispered to him. "I think you're over doing it a little!"

Maya didn't notice Al's whispering to him. "It's alright…Alex, can I call you Alex?" She watched Armstrong nod before continuing. "Yeah. It's as simple as that! Don't have to 'dial' in the number! Hehehe. Well, we still call it dialing but, um…yeah. Just punch in the number and you're done! Oh, and I also have cell phones for all of you." She handed them all a cell phone. "Ummmm, it's a little more complicated to make a call from these…"

Ed looked at the small thing. "You're kidding me? This is a phone?"

"You haven't seen these either?" Maya blinked. "Wow! You're really behind on the times. Then you're definitely going to need this!" She hands them a manual for the cell phones.

Ed scratched the back of his head. "Yeah! Being stuck with Majo…ummmm…Alex here really set us back a bit! Hehehe." Ed examined the cell phone he was holding. "Amazing! It's so small! Winry would love to get a hold of this!"

"Who's Winry?" Maya asked.

"Um…" Ed started to sweat. "She's my…mechanic!"

"Mechanic? What do you mean by…" Suddenly she blinked and remembered Ed's prosthetic arm and leg. "Oh! The one that made your prosthetics!" Though she did find it odd that she was referred to as a mechanic. Then again, in a way, that's exactly what she was. '_From what I've read, she should've been on the cover of Popular Science or some medical journal. Every man, woman, and child would probably be clamoring for one of her prosthetic limbs! Well, maybe something different then the metal look that was used for Ed, but still… Wonder why NERV is keeping that under wraps?_'

"Yeah!" Armstrong beamed. "And she would make a fine wife someday!"

Ed froze in position. "She is not my girlfriend! She is just my mechanic!"

Maya giggled. It was obviously that there was something between Edward and Winry, at least, on this side. "But Edward, he didn't say anything about her being your girlfriend!"

Edward fell, stuck in his frozen position.

Al scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uhhehehe."

Maya continued to giggle.

Suddenly, both Armstrong and Ed's stomachs rumbled. Ed got up and checked the fridge. It was empty. "Um, Miss Ibuki?"

"Just call me Maya!" Maya replied to the boy.

"Maya, would you mind taking us someplace to eat? Since we just moved in, we don't have any groceries yet." Ed gave an embarrassed smile. "It would be our treat!"

Maya blinked. Suddenly, her stomach rumbled. "Well, I know this really cheap place…"

-Meanwhile…

Riza, Roy, and Hughes Apartment Building

"Here you are!" Makoto showed them their apartments. "This one is for Roy and Riza Mustang…"

"Hawkeye." Riza corrected.

Makoto blinked. "Oh! You're one of those couples that take the female's family name! Just like the Commander! Well then…"

Roy stopped Makoto. "No. We're keeping our separate names."

Makoto blinked. "Or, you could be one of those couples that don't change their names after marriage!" Makoto gave an embarrassed smile. "A lot of people are like that nowadays. Especially with the divorce rate rising!"

"And it's about to get even higher." Riza commented offhand.

Roy was about to enter his apartment when Hughes stopped him.

"Hold it there Col…Second Lieutenant Mustang!" Hughes stopped Roy from advancing. "Remember to take off your shoes before entering your new home!"

Roy looked at Hughes, then his feet. While he knew that this was not really necessary, has to do with the local culture and all, he decided to do it anyways. Wasn't that big of a deal in the first place. Especially since, if they were to visit other people's home, they would probably have to do it anyways. Out of respect at least. Roy took off his shoes and entered the apartment. The apartment was mostly empty with the exception of a few furniture pieces here and there. As he peered into one of the rooms, he noticed a cot on the floor. "Second Lieutenant Hyoga…"

"You can just call me Makoto!" Makoto commented. "I'm pretty much off duty right now."

"Makoto then." Roy turned to him. "You said that traditionally, Japanese people slept on the floor…"

Makoto nodded. "Yes. But don't worry, while most still sleep on the floor, you are seeing more and more western style beds popping up! I'm sure you're used to those right? One is in the master bedroom for you and your wife!"

Riza walked into the master bedroom. "I'm taking this one, Mustang!"

Makoto blinked. "Um…" He turned to Roy who was still in the guest room. "I take it you don't get along well with your wife much right now."

"You could say that!" Hughes answered for him behind them. "But don't worry! I'm here to…"

Roy threw the NERV handbook at him.

Hughes rubbed his head. "Just trying to save your marriage here!"

"HUGHES!" Roy growled.

Makoto stared at the two. "Ummm…anyways, if you need us…"

Roy checked the closet. "Oh, that reminds me, we need to buy some clothes."

Makoto blinked. He realized something was missing when he brought them to their apartments. "You don't have extra clothes? What happened to them?"

Roy sighed. '_Now to see if my acting skills are any good._' "The stupid…airline lost them. They said that they couldn't find it and so, gave us some insurance money to…buy some new ones. Good thing I kept all my personal stuff with me or we'd all be screwed."

"And lucky me. I was on the same airline." Hughes gave a fake angry look.

"That sucks." Makoto replied. "Well, I, and Aoba know a few good stores to get new clothes. Other than the um, strange ones you're wearing. Do they actually wear that kind of outfits in Germany?"

Roy shook his head. "No um…we were all a part of a…costume contest before we boarded the plane. It ran a little late so we, couldn't change."

"I see!" Makoto smiled. "Well, I guess I should be heading on my way! If you need any more help, well, you have my number, Aoba's, and the Captain's ready if need be."

"Captain huh?" Roy looked at the phone. It was a little different from the ones they used. Mainly, instead of the dial, it had buttons, but he was sure he could figure out how to use it. '_Just push the buttons right?_' Though there are a few other buttons then just numbers. '_I'll figure out what they do later._' He was more interesting in the numbers. He spotted it right away. "Captain Misato Katsuragi."

Hughes coughed. "Uh hem."

Roy stared at him.

"Nevermind! I'll be going to my apartment!" Hughes started to head towards his apartment.

"Oh, almost forgot." Makoto came back and handed them a small device. "These are your cell phones!"

"Cell phones?" Roy looked at the small thing in front him. "Where's the cord?"

Makoto blinked in surprise. "You're kidding me? You haven't seen a cell phone before? Heck, you haven't even seen a cordless phone before?"

"We've been…behind the times back in Germany!" Hughes embarrassedly commented.

"I didn't think Germany was this far behind…" Makoto thought about this for a few moments before he returned his attention to the group. "Well, to help you out, here's the manual!" He hands them the manual for the cell phone.

Riza came back into the room. "Looks like we need to buy some food. Say Makoto…"

Makoto turned to Riza. "Yes ma'am?"

"Mind coming with me to the grocery store?" She asked. "Since we're…new here, I'd liked your opinion on what I should get."

Makoto gave an embarrassed smile. "Um, well, you see, being a bachelor and all, I don't…"

"It's okay." Riza commented. "Anything would be fine right now."

"I guess I'll be going with you too!" Hughes replied. "I need to filler up on food too."

"I guess." Makoto wasn't sure about this. After all, all he buys are instant noodles, frozen foods, and canned food. Otherwise, he eats out with his limited fast food budget. "There's a grocery store at the corner so we can head there."

Meanwhile… Beef Noodle House 

"Mmmmmmmmm." Ed was shoveling noodles into his mouth. "This ramen stuff is really good! I'm liking this country already."

"Heheh." Maya also slurped up her noodles. "It's…not the best, but at these prices…"

"It's okay Maya!" Armstrong ate another full bowl of noodles. "Until our salary has been determined, we can't afford to go to a more expensive restaurant!"

"Yeah!" Maya took another slurp of her noodles before she noticed that Al didn't order any noodles, and wasn't eating anything. "Um, isn't Al hungry?"

Al turned his body to her. "Um…"

"He can't eat normal foods due to the accident." Ed replied in a low voice.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Maya went back to her noodles. She then eyed Al again. "Um, I guess your brother feels like he's responsible for putting you in there huh?"

Al looked at Maya again. "What do you mean?"

"Um…" Maya felt even more concerned. "Well, you like armor and all but…um…I…I looked and notice that it was Ed that was doing those experiments and you weren't supposed to be there." Maya was in full panic mode. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself! It was more then a quick glance…"

"Hehehe." Ed giggled a bit. "It's okay. I won't tell the Doctor that either. But yeah." He dropped his head. "It was my fault that he's the way that he is and that's why I'm looking so hard for the…cure in order to restore his body. Um, back to the way it was before."

"And when we do, we're going to have a feast ready for you Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong proudly replied.

"And I'll be there to celebrate!" Maya smiled. "Um, if you want me to."

Ed grinned. "Sure Maya! You're invited when that happens."

Roy and Riza's Apartment 

Roy sat on the couch. His stomach complained. "When is Hawkeye coming back?" Suddenly, he heard the sound of keys being fumbled, them being entered into a lock, then being turned, and then the door swinging open. She was carrying a full bag of groceries. "Honey! You're home! So, what's for dinner tonight?"

Riza scowled at him. She handed him a little cup filled with dry noodles. "Here! Follow the instructions!"

Roy caught the cup and looked at it. "Instant noodles?" He looked at the directions. Unfortunately, unlike what the name implied, they weren't exactly instant. "Boil some water? How am I going to do that?"

Riza pointed to the kitchen. "With a kettle and some water. Put it on the stove. Oh, and turn on the stove too! Got it?"

Roy sighed. "Fine." He looked at the kettle, and then at the stove. He filled the kettle and put it on the stove. And yes, he turned it on. After waiting a few minutes, his stomach complained again. "This is taking too long." So he snapped his fingers and created a spark. He used alchemy to make the fire bigger.

Suddenly, the curtain caught on fire.

"Uh oh." Roy watched as the fire started to spread. The fire alarm went off.

"What the heck was that sound?" Riza ran out and saw the ever growing infernal appear. "MUSTANG! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"I was trying to boil water!" Streams of tears appeared on Roy's face.

Hughes Apartment

"Gotta say, these instant food are wonderful at a time like this!" Hughes was eating his cooked instant ramen. He took out a picture of his wife and daughter and stared nearly teary eyed at it. "Not as good as your cooking, but good enough for someone who can't exactly cook." Suddenly, the smell of smoke filled the room. "What the?" Then the fire alarm went off. "Must've been Mustang." He sighed.

-Meanwhile…in another Universe…

Outside what used to be Southern Vale

Standing guard at the entrance of what was once Southern Vale, were two military soldiers. Each soldier made sure any onlookers couldn't get past them as the military investigates exactly want happened to the town. The town itself was nothing more than a creator. Off to the side in the nearby woods, stood a woman with long black hair, and an ouroboros tattoo on her chest. Standing next to her was a short stocky man whose only interest seemed to be eating. And next to them was a man, or woman, staring into the abyss that was once Southern Vale.

Lust stood there with her arms crossed. "I knew it was a mistake to let those fools try and make a Philosopher's Stone. Now we even lost the shrimp."

Envy stared at the remains of the town. "Do you think he's gone? As well as the town?"

Lust shrugged. "Who knows? Something happened here, but we're let the military find that out. Right now, we have to find someone that can take that shrimp's place." She turned to the dark forest. "Come Gluttony."

Gluttony nodded and followed Lust into the forest.

Envy crossed his or her arms. "And we were so close."

Meanwhile…

On a Train out of Risenbool

Winry sat staring into out the window as the scenery passed by. "Stupid Al and Edward! Getting lost like that!" Although news normally traveled slowly to her parts, this one spread like wildfire. Seemed that an entire town disappeared overnight. How and for what reason no one knows. All they know was, that the entire population was gone. Included in the disappearance were a number of alchemists. Including a famous one that went by the name of Fullmetal. "They can't be gone! They just can't!" A single tear trickled down her face. "I'll find them! And I'll kick their ass in making me come all the way over there too!"

* * *

-------End of Chapter 4 

Yes! As you can see, if this was a part of Chapter 3, it would've been my longest chapter, EVER! Since I wasn't too fond of, breaking the bank so to speak, I decided to split this chapter up in two! And here, is the second part.

One of the most surprising connections that were found in both the FMA (manga at least) and the Eva world was the Kabbalistic Tree of Life (it appeared in FMA manga chapter 23, volume 6, and throughout Evangelion series). Though not original to either series of course (existed for a looooooooong time. Exact dates I don't know), it was still interesting to see it in both worlds. I don't feel like trying to explain what it means so, if you want to know what the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is, google is your friend!

Now, this chapter was just fun to write! More conflict, more FMA world (you now know what happened to Southern Vale, and an idea of how Winry gets to the Evangelion world), and some VERY original. I know I keep comparing this story to my Eva stories, but in away, this story is what the other story is supposed to be. While still loosely following the events of the series, it is also VERY original as well. Something I can't say for the other story (although there was a reason why I went that other route with the other story).

Also, if you notice, while I usual used first names, for Hughes and Armstrong, I've been using their last names. Oops? Well, it wasn't my intention and, sorry for that!

One of the interesting paradoxes I guess, in the series, while it was obviously based on more Germanic origins (the names for example, Alphonse, Hohemheim, Fuhrer Bradley, etc.) all the written stuff was also written…in English. While most of the time it was too small, if you look real closely, it wasn't German that they were written in! In the manga, most of the text was kept too small to read so that problem didn't quite exist there (not to mention the fact that many of the written stuff, was simply taken from real books. Guess no one expected people to read them). So, why did I say Germany and not English? Well, again, it's apparent that it had a more Germanic origin to it, and this creates an interesting problem when a certain redhead comes on board! Hehehe.

And last thing, I noticed a SHARP drop in reviews from chapter 2, to chapter 3. Maybe it was because you all knew that chapter 3 wasn't complete? Or did all of you people think the last update wasn't really an update (since I forgot to change my little summary thing to reflect that it was actually Chapter 3 and not Chapter 2 again that got updated?). Or maybe it was just a time when no one was reading? Well, for the first two parts, that shouldn't be a problem. Latter…well, can't help with that. So anyways, here is the COMPLETE, chapter 4 for you. And, while you don't have to, review! I like reading them, and I like to gauge what people think of my story.

Next chapter…it's the start of their first official day in their new lives. Oh, and look! Edward has to go to school! People are going to learn fast that you shouldn't call Edward short! Especially a certain classmate by the name of…well, until next time! Later!


	5. The First Day NERV

This is Chapter 5 of my FMA/Eva story.

In the last AN, I mentioned that I refer to Hughes and Armstrong as, well, Hughes and Armstrong, instead of the first names that I usually refer to characters. And then I just, left it at that. Well, sorry about that again. What I meant to say, I guess to be consistent, I will continue to call them Hughes and Armstrong until I decide otherwise (like, I don't know, going back and changing it?). Besides, I think you know whom I was talking about better with their last names instead of saying Maes and Alex right?

As for the gold coin that was used to transmute the rocks into gold? I can see where it might be important to have that there as an aid. But again, if anything, that still shows that, yes, elemental change IS possible as long as you do it right, even if it requires a little help.

Now, for getting to the actual plot? I agree. Sorry if it's a little slow getting there. Right now, still pretty much introduction. However, slowly but surely, a plot for the rest of the story is forming. After all, can't do anything, without well, knowing what they will do.

Envy? Well…(SPOILERS) I know that Envy is a male in the anime. Which this story is based off of, and will probably remain a part of. However, his gender in the manga is more ambiguous. In fact, he might actually be a she from what I've read.

And for minimizing Shinji? Sorry about that as well! As you know, the FMA group are the main characters of this story. However, I don't intend to leave Shinji behind either. Reason why Shinji hasn't been seen much is, well, all the scenes that I could've shown him in, pretty much like the episode. Maybe a one sentence of him mentioning the FMA group, but that wasn't enough to warrant a mention IMO. I learned my lesson from the other story (yes, I'm mentioning the other story again. Deal with it), you don't have to show everything if it isn't original. Shinji WILL have more screen time now that the FMA group has settled in. Especially with Ed, and maybe Al.

Oh, and if you notice, there are hints of, well, Riza/Roy, and Ed/Winry here. To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of either. Hehehe…uh. But given that there isn't really an alternative (For Ed, there was Rose for the anime. But she will not make an appearance in this story. And she was pretty much non-existent in the manga), and no reason to piss off fans of either, hey, you got your hints right here! Though that will stay that way for now. In other words, no mushy romance here!

And finally, sorry again about the length of the chapters (especially the excessive AN that just seem to get bigger and bigger). There's just so much to write for this story.

Unless I have something else to say, that should be enough AN for now. On with the story!

* * *

Riza and Roy's Apartments

Ritsuko really didn't want to be there. She was getting ready to take her beauty nap, until she got a call from NERV about a little, 'problem' at one of the new 'transfers' apartments. She had to get up early the next morning to dissect the amount of data that she received from the Evas. She also had to prepare for integrating these, 'Alchemist' into NERV. All planned in the morning. But given that these were her new subordinates, subordinates that she was trying to keep semi-secret from the public (the most that NERV would allow out was the fact that they all worked for them), she didn't have much of a choice here. She looked at the now blackened kitchen. The place was extensively damaged. It would've been worse if it wasn't for some quick thinking by Hughes getting a hose, and, with the help of Roy's alchemy (while his specialty was everything that dealt with fire, he does know a few things about the other areas of alchemy), they were able to get the fire out before the firefighters arrived. It took a while to get the fire department to keep this 'hush hush' between them, but in the end, their secret was safe, for now. With them out of the way, she cast her tired eyes at the one responsible for it. "So you used your alchemy to try and speed up the boiling process."

Roy gave a slightly embarrassed expression to Ritsuko. "Yes Doctor."

Ed was grinning wildly. While he was slightly annoyed being forced to come here, seeing what the Colonel, now Second Lieutenant had done, made up for that. He just enjoyed seeing the arrogant power hungry Second Lieutenant in a very awkward position. "Causing trouble already Second Lieutenant?"

Roy dangerously eyed Ed. "Remember, I'm still your superior!"

"And I'm both your superiors." Ritsuko's voiced, while not loud, it still boomed inside Roy and Ed's ear. They shrank in fear. "Now, can either of you fix this?"

Ed grinned wildly again. "Oh! I can do that!" Ed clapped his hands, and placed them on the floor. In a matter of seconds, the damage was reversed. "See? This is what I've been doing all throughout my time with the Colonel! Oh, I mean Second Lieutenant! Ho Ho Ho!"

Roy gritted his teeth. _'Trying to score points with the doctor you little…'_

Ritsuko smiled. "I see that we are going to have a wonderful working relationship together Edward. In fact, I think YOU should've been made Second Lieutenant!" Ritsuko watched as this gave a rise out of Roy. She ignored that and turned to Riza. "Now Miss Hawkeye, I'm beginning to see why Misato gave you a gun permit."

Roy stood up straight when he heard that.

"Keep an eye on the Second Lieutenant for me!" Ritsuko smiled evilly. "Make sure he stays out of trouble outside of NERV."

Riza cocked her gun. "Will do ma'am!"

Roy was at a lost. "Bu…"

Riza eyed her 'husband'. "Is there something wrong 'honey'?"

Roy sweated before finally dropping his shoulders. "No."

Hughes came up behind them and hugged them. "Well, don't worry you two! I'm going to make sure that things will be patched up between the two of you in no time!"

Riza looked away in defiance.

Roy eyed Hughes with an annoyed glance. "Maes!"

Hughes smiled innocently. "I'm going back to my apartment! If you need my counseling, you know where to find me!" He quickly leaves Riza and Roy's apartment.

Roy looked at the departing Hughes and sighed. Suddenly his stomach growled. "Umm…"

Riza eyed Roy. "You can boil water again. But THIS time, do it normally!"

Although he didn't have to be there, Al still came along to see what was up. Armstrong was sleeping like a baby when Ritsuko called. Al, being a piece of armor, couldn't really sleep. Since he had nothing better to do, he went with Ed on this trip to Riza and Roy's apartment. He had to admit, seeing Roy's mess was amusing. "Or, you can use alchemy…" He approached the kettle full or water. After drawing an array on it, he touched it, and voila, instant hot water.

Ed chuckled. "Yup! By adding energy and speeding up the water molecules, instant boiling water! Using alchemy the right way! Right Second Lieutenant?"

Roy gritted his teeth again. "Even Al is making fun of me!"

Ritsuko also chuckled a bit. She almost felt sorry for Roy. Almost. Then she looked at her watch, it was getting late so she heading out the door. "Well, I guess I can finally go home and get some sleep." However, before she left, she stopped in front of Al. She knocked on his armor. "And we still need to do something about this. If we are to keep this secret, we can't have a hollow sounding armor walking around."

Ed walked up next to Al and Ritsuko. "Yeah. But whatever do, it must not touch the seal."

"The Seal?" Ritsuko was slightly confused by what Edward meant, until she remembered what he said earlier. "Oh! Oh yeah! The seal."

Al took his helmet head off. "This is the seal that binds me to this armor." Al pointed to it. "If this goes, I go."

Ritsuko nodded. "I see. Well, we can't have that. So whatever we do, mustn't rub up against it." As she looked closer, she noticed that it looked like… "It looks like blood."

Ed nodded. "Yeah. My blood."

"That might explain why you two are so close." Ritsuko thought out loud. As Ritsuko looked at the seal more, a question was beginning to form in her mind. "Say Ed, Al? Do you have any idea where your memories go?"

Ed looked at Ritsuko oddly. "Hey! I thought you were done with Al?"

"I am." Ritsuko defended. "As far as NERV is concerned, he's nothing to them. And even then, I don't think I could find anything more about Al at NERV anyways, beyond that MRI scan. But that still doesn't mean that I don't have questions." As she looked up and down Al, she still couldn't see it. "You remember everything before you became armor right?"

Al shook his head. "Not everything. But I do know a lot. Why?"

"What about afterwards? All your adventures with Ed?" Ritsuko continued.

Al nodded his head again. "Yup! From Ed becoming a State Alchemist, helping the coal miners, stopping that fake Priest, meeting Scar, I remember all that!"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at Doctor?"

Ritsuko tapped her chin. "Well, you know that people and animals form memories in the brain. But Al doesn't have a brain."

"Yeah. But…" Ed's eyes widened. He was finally seeing where Ritsuko was getting at. "So where are his memories going?"

Ritsuko looked at the armor again. "Al, do you, lose memories when you are damaged?"

Al thought about it. "I…don't think so."

"So, it isn't stored in your armor." Ritsuko concluded. "Then where?"

Al's eyes widened. "Does this mean that my body is still out there? And that I'm somehow connected to it?"

Ed thought about the night he was taken. "But how? Wasn't your body…" However, a realization hit him. "Wait, what if, what if your body is still there! And that your soul is here?"

"Then, all we have to do is get it back?" Al replied excited before his doubt returned. "But wasn't it taken to make…mom?"

Ed frowned. "I'm not sure." Ed then looked at his arm and leg before returning to Al's face. "But if it was taken, it wasn't to make the body. Remember, we had everything to make the body. Just the soul…there might be a possibility that they only took my leg for that and, well, getting there was your body!"

Ritsuko was very interested about this. However, she didn't have time for it at the moment. "Interesting theory. BUT, it also sounds like we can't prove it either. Without the Philosopher's Stone at least! Oh, I need to get to bed. And you two as well."

Ed yawned. "Yeah. I guess you're right Doctor. Can't just dwell on this subject or we'll never get anywhere."

"Yup!" Ritsuko opened the door. "Oh, and one last thing, you're all going to have a supply of clothes shipped to you. We're not sure about the measurements, but they should fit all of you just fine. Should at least give you guys an extra set then what you're all wearing right now. Anymore, well, you'll have to buy them yourselves." Ritsuko said in a raised voice then before.

"Thanks!" Riza shouted in the other room. While she, nor Roy who was busy gobbling his instant noodles, heard the initial conversation, she did hear that.

"Thanks Doc." Ed exited the apartment. "Having an extra set of clothes around is going to help."

"Yeah!" Ritsuko watched the Elric brothers walk off. "Hmmmm…I think I forgot something. Oh yeah, the documents about his transfer to Shinji's school. Bah, he'll find out in the morning."

Later… Elric Brother's and Armstrong's Apartment 

Edward woke up from his cot. He yawned. "Ahh! Our first day as NERV agents." In reality, he really wasn't looking forward to doing it. He wasn't happy about being the 'dog of the military', and now, you can say he's the 'dog of NERV'. Still, in this strange world, it gave him something to do until they get back. They can't exactly look for the Philosopher's Stone…at least the way they were doing it in Amestris. Now, they are here to try and make one. And if, in a way, they make the Philosopher's Stone here with NERV's help, then it would all be worth it. He just hoped that he could do it differently than the ones they have met who attempted to make one.

Edward looked around his small room. There wasn't much in this small room. There was just a cot, a desk, a chair, and a clock. The digital clock read 6 am. He had to admit, he was impressed with the little device. _'Battery technology has certainly gone a long way.' _Ed thought as he got up from his cot. He scratched his butt as he headed towards his room's door. He looked outside in the hallway before heading to the bathroom. He sees Al watching TV. "Hi Al!" He was about to enter the bathroom when he suddenly stopped. He looked at what Al was doing? "Al? What's that?"

Al turned back to Ed. "This? I'm not really sure. When I pushed the power button, an image appeared like a movie. There are even different channels when I press these button!" Al proceeds to push certain buttons on the television set (he hasn't discovered the remote control yet), and the channel changes. "I can even adjust the volume like a radio!" Al pushed the up and down buttons that say, volume, underneath it.

Ed examined the device. "I see. This is like a radio…with movies instead!" Ed smiled. However, being the scientist that he was, he was curious just how. "How does it do it?" He checked the back. "Wonder what this plug does?" He pulls on it.

Poof! The TV goes off.

Al was panicking. Apparently he found a show that interested him. "BROTHER!"

"Oops! I guess that's the power supply!" Ed re-plugged the TV. "Okay, so that is how it gets the power. What does this cable do?" He pulled it off.

Poof! White noise and static appeared.

"BROTHER!" Al loomed over Ed.

Ed sweat dropped. "Hehehe. Al…ummmm…" Ed quickly reconnected the cable. "I guess that's where the signal is coming from." Ed looked back and noticed that Al was watching. His eyes seemed to, glaze over so to speak, though that was hard to tell given he was a piece of armor. Ed looked at the image. It was some sort of, animation. "Yu-Gi-Oh? This IS just like a movie!" At first, he was curious how they could make a drawing move. But, that curiosity was short lived since, Ed figured, if it was anything like a normal movie that they were used to, they simply had many drawings in succession that would mimic movement. The longer he watched it, the more he was satisfied with that answer. _'It looks like the drawers had many little shortcuts here and there. Like only having the mouth or hair move instead of anything else! Even so, still must be a lot of tired drawers doing this!'_

Al was fuming. Ed was standing in front of his fascinating show. "Big Brother! Move out of the way!" Al yelled at him again.

"EeP!" Ed sweated and moved out the way. "Sorry." _'Well, at least Al has something to do all day in this world.'_ Although he heard from the Doctor the he should have him help work on the Philosopher's Stone when he's done.

"EDDDDDWAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDDDD!" Armstrong yelled out. He was wearing the tan uniform similar to the ones the bridge bunnies wore at NERV. "Breakfast is reaaaaaaaaadddddyyyyyyyyy!" Sparkles appeared all around him.

Ed dropped his head. "Hello…Alex!" _'Of all the people they could've chosen to be my guardian, it had to be the Armstrong!'_

"Just call me daddy Edward!" Armstrong beamed in his new NERV uniform.

Ed was shaking with the ridiculousness of the situation he was in. "Major Armstrong, NO! You're just my guardian. And it's also a cover!"

Armstrong got up and hugged Ed. "But Edward, being your guardian means being your parent!"

Edward was struggling to get out of his grip. "Did you hear that last part Major?"

Armstrong let go. "Oh, and remember. I'm Warren Officer in this world Edward!"

"Warren Officer then." Ed said as he watched Armstong attempt to hug him again. He put his hand up immediately. "And enough of that." Ed watched Armstrong comply and went back to his cooking. Ed sighed_. 'At least that was over. I hope.'_ Suddenly, he noticed a box next to Armstrong. "Let me guess, these are our new clothes!"

Armstrong nodded. "Although this uniform is a little small on me, at least I won't stand out as much!"

Ed internally chuckled_. 'Stand out? He can't help but stand out!' _Ed then noticed a note attached to the box. "So, I'm allowed to wear my normal clothes to NERV huh?"

"You are one of the younger members." Armstrong spoke up while he cooked some veggies. "They are more lenient when it comes to wearing a uniform. The only thing the Doctor asked is that you do not go wearing something, unusual."

Ed thought about this for a moment. "Even the Amestris army allowed me to wear my normal clothes." He then looked at what he was wearing. "And from the looks of it, even this might not be considered unusual." Ed checked the contents of the box. "All clothes for me." _'Kind of logical I guess. I assume Armstrong put his away. And Al, well, obviously he wouldn't have any clothes.' _"Let's see, dress shirts, pants, these ones called jeans, school uniform…" Ed suddenly stopped. "Wait, school uniform?"

Armstrong beamed. "You've been enrolled at the District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School!"

Ed face faulted. "But I don't need to go to school!"

"If we are to not raise suspicion Edward, you have to go to school!" Armstrong looked down at Ed. Although Ed wasn't sure, he could've sworn flames were coming up behind Armstrong. "Besides, you do not have to worry about going for at least three weeks. The doctor did want you to get settled in your new role as NERV employees before unleashing this new task on you!"

"True." Ed reluctantly agreed. "But still…"

"And you WILL do ALL your homework and do well in school! Right Edward Elric!" Armstrong towered menacingly over Edward.

Edward shrank in fear. "Yes Armstrong."

**_Later…_**

Maya's Car

"I'm…sorry about the um…room." Maya blushed in embarrassment as she sees the big man, crammed next to her. Given Maya's budget, she didn't really have the money to buy a bigger one. Not that she would, she lived alone and, until recently, didn't have to worry about anyone riding in her car. And she doesn't always take her car to work either. At other times, she took the subway whenever it was convenient. "But this car wasn't exactly built for someone so tall."

"It's okay Second Lieutenant Ibuki." Armstrong had to duck down a bit since his head was literally touching the roof of Maya's small economy car. His knees were also very close to his chest, even with the seat pushed all the way back. "I'm used to it. Even in our wo…country, I'm considered to be quite tall there as well. And not everything is made for my height."

"I see. Oh, and you could just call me Maya! I mean I know I'm your guys superior, but you don't have to be official with me all the time!" Maya smiled. "Well, once you get settled in, you don't have to worry about being crammed into my car all the time either! You could take a subway that will lead you two straight to the entrance!"

"A subway?" Ed looked through the information pact that was given to him. "Underground trains. Amazing!" _'They must've found a way to have trains run off of the electricity. Otherwise, the underground stations would be filled with smoke. Like the trolley's maybe? But these trains appear to be bigger then those!'_

Maya looked back at the stunted bean…uhhhhh…Ed. "Don't you have subways in Germany?"

Ed shot his head up at Maya's question. "Uh, yeah! Yeah! We do! But it was…ummm…smaller then this! Hehehe." _'At least, I think they only have a subway according to the material the Doctor provided. I just hope the Second Lieutenant buys it!'_

"Oh! Well yeah. Tokyo 3's mass transit system is one of the largest! Even with Second Impact destroying the old city." Maya smiled, happy to be of service to these foreigners of her, 'vast knowledge' of the city. "Don't worry! Once you get the hang of using it, you can travel anywhere in the city!"

"Yeah!" Ed then took out his school ID card. "Speaking of the subway, how do I get to…District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School?"

"Oh yeah! You start in three weeks don't you?" Maya stopped at a red light before continuing. "Well, you don't have to worry about it yet… But I suppose I can still show you if you want! Or you can ask Shinji where it is! You'll meet him again today since he has a training exercises!"

'_I wonder why Shinji agreed to pilot it again?'_ Ed thought about the shy boy. _'Although he was pretty much all they had the last time, that doesn't mean they couldn't have brought in someone else now the current threat has past. What about Asuka? And why not have them find another candidate? Shinji couldn't have been the only other candidate! Something tells me he's going to need a friend in this world. It certainly isn't going to be his father!'_ His eyes narrowed as he thought about the Commander. The idea that he would have to follow orders from him made him sick.

Maya then thought about Al. _'If Alex Armstrong and Edward Elric are working at NERV, what's Al going to do all day?'_ "Um, Ed and Alex, is it okay to call you by your first names?" Maya watched both Ed and Armstrong nod in agreement before continuing. "What's Al going to do while you're working?"

"Al? He's watching that…ummm…Sony thing while we're gone." Ed replied with a slight embarrassment. He still wasn't sure what the 'movie radio' was called.

Maya blinked with confusion. "Sony? You mean the television?"

"Yeah yeah! That's it! The television!" Ed made a nervous giggle. "I can't believe I forgot what it was called! Hehehe!"

Maya chuckled. "It's okay! I forget words sometimes too!" Maya turned left at the next stoplight and was now just a few blocks away from the entrance to NERV. "Al should be careful! Television can rot the brain!"

Armstrong and Ed turned their attention immediately to Maya with fear in their voices. "It does?" Not that it mattered for Al, since he didn't have a brain at the moment. But the idea of something rotting the brain wasn't good either.

Maya was surprised about the two's fear. "Um…I meant it figuratively. You know, since you're not thinking a lot when you're watching and ummm…allow the story to just…sort of, wash over you as opposed to books…"

Armstrong and Ed sighed in relief.

"Yeah!" Ed heard something similar about listening to the radio too much. But at least the radio allowed you to use your imagination. Not so with the television he thought. "I'm going to, have him read books from time to time!"

Maya chuckled. "Yeah! Nice to have a younger brother to look out for him!"

Ed was about to correct her when he realized, in this world he was his older brother. At the very least, to the general public he was his older brother. I mean, Al was so much… taller. Ed mentally screamed at that realization.

"Do not worry yourself Maya!" Armstrong ripped off his shirt. Sparkles appeared around Armstrong. "For I, Alex Louis Armstrong will make sure that Al is given plenty of books to keep his mind active!" Armstrong, in a somewhat failed attempt, posed inside Maya's car.

"Um…Warren Officer…" Ed was very frightful at the moment. Not at Armstrong's typical showing off but…

Armstrong's massive jacket was now covering Maya's head.

"Oops!" Armstrong was holding the side of the door.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ed was holding on to dear life as car started swerving from side to side.

**_Later…_**

NERV Headquarters – Doctor Ritsuko Akagi's Office

"Welcome to your first day as a member of NERV!" Ritsuko smiled at the group in front of her. "Now, I take it that you all had a good sleep last night?" Despite her chipper expression, she didn't get all the sleep she had wanted, especially with that little incident last night. Still, she had work to do, and she had to do it. Just meant that her coffee consumption for the day has been greatly increased.

Roy nodded a bit. "In a way I guess." He was wearing the same tan uniform as Armstrongs.

Ed grinned. "What did Lieutenant Hawkeye, I mean, your WIFE do this time Second Lieutenant?" Ed gave special emphasis on wife.

Roy glared at Ed. "Well, ENSIGN, she didn't do anything. She didn't even cook me breakfast!" Roy seemed to be in near tears over that. "Except spend most of her time in the bathroom." _'While I REALLY had to go.'_ "What exactly does she do in there?"

'_Hehehe. Women are apparently the same everywhere.'_ Ritsuko grinned. "Well, you can exchange experiences later. Right now, let's begin shall we?"

Armstrong nodded. "What should be the first thing we do Doctor?"

Ritsuko rubbed her chin. "For beginners, what are the basics of alchemy? I know you told me the general gist of it, but tell me, what's involved in it? Where do you start? How do you do what you do and so on?"

Ed smiled. "Well, I guess the easiest way to do this would be to tell you what my teacher first told me about alchemy."

Ritsuko got out her clipboard, paper, and a pen. "Sounds good to me."

Ed cleared his throat. "The Foundation of Alchemy's Power is the circle…"

Ritsuko started writing all of this down in her notepad.

**_Later…_**

NERV Headquarters – Training Facility

"So where's Hughes right now?" Ed asked as they walked towards the training facility.

"Maes?" Roy looked back at Ed as he continued forward. "He's currently in the 'press room' asking questions to NERV. In reality, they were prepared questions given to NERV. So in effect, they are answering their own questions."

"And then, he will type up his report for the Tokyo 3 Daily News." Ritsuko added. "Though I will need someone to show him how to use a computer." As she was saying this, they all entered the training room. Misato was waiting there.

"Hiya guys!" Misato waved at them. "Here for the first training session with Shinji I see!"

Ed nodded. "Yeah." He looked at the computer monitors that the technicians were looking at. They sort of reminded him of television screens. Which reminded him… "Hey Second Lieutenant Mustang? Did you and your 'wife' discover the television?"

Roy looked at Ed oddly. "Television?"

"You know, that box that had a screen and a button on it?" Ed grinned.

"Oh! So that's what it was called!" Roy shook his head. "I didn't check it out yet. But I think Hawkeye was watching it when I left. She was staring at it quite intently I remember." _'I hope she's okay. She seemed to be a little too memorized with it.'_

Misato giggled a bit. "I'll have to show her some of the wonders of day time soap operas one of these days!"

"What's that?" Roy turned back to Misato.

"Nothing!" Misato innocently smiled at Roy.

Armstrong looked at the monitors with interest. These, televisions were all showing Shinji, and a number of other data that he wasn't able to decipher at the moment. On one of the screen, they could see Shinji's face in the entry plug. Armstrong noticed an occasional bubble coming out of his mouth. "Is that, liquid inside where Shinji is?"

"Liquid?" Ed turned away from Roy and back to Shinji. "He's underwater?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "That is LCL. A breathable liquid that helps connect Shinji to the Eva."

Edward approached the screen. "Breathable liquid? There is such a thing?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yup! He can even talk in it too!" Ritsuko took a headset and put it on. "Shinji, how are you doing?"

Shinji looked up. He had a reserved expression like he was resigned to his fate. "Just fine." He replied unenthusiastically.

"Good!" Ritsuko replied. "Have you started memorized all the placements of the Eva controls?"

"Yes." Shinji again replied unenthusiastically.

Ed frowned. Despite what Shinji was saying, it definitely did not sound like he wanted to be there.

Armstrong and Roy weren't that happy either. Armstrong wasn't happy that this boy was, seemingly, forced to pilot something that he obviously didn't want to pilot. Roy didn't like it because he was concerned that the fate of this world was in the hands of someone like Shinji.

'_Not good.'_ Roy thought.

"Good." Ritsuko nodded. "By the way, I have a few guest here." Ritsuko took her headset off and showed it to Ed. "Want to talk to Shinji?"

Ed looked at the headset. He then looked at the others that were wearing it. He guessed it was some sort of telephone like device. He took it and did exactly what the others were doing. "Hey Shinji!"

Shinji's eyes lit up a bit. "You're Edward right?"

"Yeah!" Ed smiled at the tone. "I'm going to be joining your in three weeks!"

Shinji blinked in surprise. "You, you are? Why three weeks?"

"Need to get settled in first. After all, coming all the way from… Germany, different experience for us!" Ed scratched the back of his head. "Since I would be the new kid, I guess you could show me around a bit when that happens! We could be friends!"

Ritsuko noted that the sync ratio went up a bit. She smiled a bit. _'I think they are already beneficial to the project! And we haven't even gotten to the alchemy yet!'_

Shinji shock dissipated a bit. "I don't know…"

Ed smiled. "Come on! You shouldn't be afraid to make friends here!"

"Yeah Shinji!" Misato spoke up next to them. "Shorty here can be your friend! At least you can be the tall person here!"

Ed's smile disappeared. He glared at Misato.

Misato glared back at Ed. "Oh please! You need to learn to not take everything so personally!"

"I…I guess." Shinji sighed.

After his staring contest with Misato, Ed sighed. _'This is going to take a while.'_

Ritsuko took back the headset. "Okay Shinji! You're done for today."

"Yes." Shinji waited for the plug to open, and exited it.

'_What's up with him? He has Misato as a guardian!'_ Roy crossed his arms. "Is there anything else we need to know about the Evas Doctor?"

"Of course!" Ritsuko went up to a computer and replayed the video of the Angel attack from a few nights back. "This is the Eva in action!"

Armstrong, Roy, and Ed all watched the video. "Oooooooooooooo."

At first, the Eva wasn't much of a threat to the Angel. As they had suspected, Shinji just wasn't much of a fighter. Never mind the fact that he never had any prior training either. Still, it looked bad and none of the three could believe that Shinji defeated it. Suddenly, their eyes widened when all of a sudden, the Angel slapped its hand into the Eva's head, shot some sort of energy attack at it, and blood sprayed from it. At least, they think it was blood.

"What is that red stuff coming out the Eva?" Armstrong asked with curiosity.

Ed also wondered the same thing. _'It could be something like oil I guess. I expect that for such a large machine they would use that. But why was it red? Or maybe even that red liquid? Nah. It can't be that, especially in this world. So what could it be?'_

Ritsuko looked at the video. "Well, you could say that it is blood."

"Blood?" Roy asked surprised. "You're not serious are you?"

"Yeah!" Ed was also surprised by this revelation. "You're not saying that this is the same kind of blood we have right?"

"Actually…" Ritsuko waited until she had all three of their attention. "You could say that it is the same as the blood we have. You see, what an Eva is, is an biomechanical machine."

"A bio what?" Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Biomechanical machine. Imagine your right arm, but instead of using metal muscles, it is biological. It would still have the wires and so forth, but at least part of it would be made out of an organic mass." Ritsuko explained. "Oh, and it is also why only a few people can pilot an Eva since the pilot has to link with it in order to keep it moving. Much less fight."

"So in a way, it is alive. And the machine must still 'accept' the pilot!" Ed looked at his arm. He tried to imagine the idea that, while not all of it would be living, at least part of it would be. _'Combining organic with mechanical parts. Strange concept, but I guess there are advantages to this.'_

As they continued to view the video, they are again surprised that the Eva went into a kind of berserker mode. None of the three could believe that this was Shinji! While right before he couldn't do anything in the Eva, he could suddenly now fight as if he had extensive training. The tide seemed to have turned, and even the damaged parts of the Eva were instantly fixed. Or healed as the case might be. They even see the Eva get through the Angel's AT Field. Which reminded the alchemy group…

"How did Shinji get through the AT Field?" Ed looked up at Ritsuko.

"Simple." Ritsuko grinned. "He made his own AT Field. You see that's one of the reasons why the Eva's were developed. To get through that very field of the Angels."

"Technology certainly went a long way in this world." Armstrong commented as he sees the finally of the attack. The Angel's suicidal attack that left the Eva damaged, but not destroyed. "The Eva can even take a direct hit!"

"To an extent." Ritsuko added. "It did lose a big chunk of its armor. But with a few repairs, it was ready to fight another day." _'Few repairs that cost more then most nations GDP, but still, ready to fight for another day.'_ Ritsuko mentally added before continuing. "Oh, and one last thing, if you noticed, the Eva was mostly hooked up to an electrical plug. This is because current battery technology only allows for 5 minutes of maximum power."

"Given the size of that thing, 5 minutes is mighty impressive." Armstrong noted.

Ritsuko smiled. "That should be enough for now."

Ed, Armstrong, and Roy all thought in silence about what they had seen and heard.

"I'm not sure how useful our alchemy would be to the Eva." Roy admitted.

Armstrong nodded. "Alchemy pretty much can only be performed by a human. Though we could use it to repair the Eva, given their size, even with our skills, that is a tall order. Not to mention, given that they also contain organic material, that closely falls in the realm of Bio Alchemy which none of us are an expert in."

"I see." Ritsuko frowned in disappointment. "I was afraid of that."

"Wait." Ed thought back to the liquid Shinji was in. "You said that Shinji was linked to the Eva in some way. Since the Eva is partially biological, could it be possible…"

Ritsuko smiled again. She liked where this was going. "So, if Shinji learned Alchemy, could he apply it to the Evas?"

"Um, I guess." Ed found himself no longer sure about this line of thinking.

"Perfect!" Ritsuko grinned. "Your job Ensign Elric is to teach Shinji how to perform alchemy!"

"But…" Ed started his protest.

"That was an order Ed." Ritsuko glared at him. "Now, as for Shinji, you can see him in changing room."

Ed lowered his shoulders. _'What did I just do?'

* * *

_

End of Chapter 5

Woohoo! My shortest chapter for this story yet! If you take out the AN, the actual story itself is close to 5400 words. Well, actually, this chapter was again, MEANT to be longer. But given how slow it was getting to this point, I decided to cut it here before it went TOO long. I originally wanted to get to the school (and the madness that would follow when he gets there), but again, that would be like, another 5000 words, at least! Wasn't willing to get that long.

Now, I was trying to speed through some areas. For example, their explanation of alchemy. I thought they didn't need to explain it a whole lot given that you pretty much know a lot about it. Alchemist, make circle, use power, voila, alchemy. By the way, I took the start of the phrase from the scanlation of the manga. So, to an extent, it wasn't an officially what they said given that it was a fan translation. But it should be close for the same reason.

The other thing I sort of cut out was Roy, Riza, and Hughes, morning run. Why? Well, in Roy's side, he wouldn't have done much I admit. Riza would be in the bathroom, while Roy was waiting? Then you have Riza discovering TV. Could be funny to show it I guess, but not important IMO. Same thing with Hughes in this story. After all, he pretty much lived alone. So there wasn't exactly a whole lot I could do with him. If anyone is going to be shortchanged, it might be Hughes given this situation. However, I promise you that he will be more important as the story progresses (especially late in the story where the secrets and lies start to boil over).

Oh, and again, sorry about the story seemingly being one long explaining session after another. Again, this goes back to the idea that they can't do anything use they know it. Right now, they are still trying to figure out the inner workings of the Eva now that they are officially working. And as you can see, Ed now has a new job.

No FMA catch up scene for now. Maybe next chapter?

Oh, and one last thing. Supposing that it parallels the series, two chapters per episode, that means that story…will be around, 52 chapters! Give a take a few! Seems quite daunting. I think I might have to cut a few things to keep the number reasonable!

Next chapter…I said that Ed would be in school in this chapter? Well, NEXT CHAPTER he is! Will Ed and Shinji be friends? And what will they do when the next angel attacks?


	6. The First Day School

-Chapter 6 of my FMA/Eva story.

-Again, this chapter, in a way, could be said to be really Chapter 5 cut off due to length.

-When I mentioned Hughes and Armstrong and only using their last names, I was primarily talking about the narrative. Reasons why I use first names mostly in the narrative, well, there are TWO Ikari's in Evangelion for example. For whatever reason, when it came to Hughes and Armstrong, I stuck with the last names. Well, for the foreseeable future, that will stay that way for now.

-Second, as for Rei Ayanami? Yeah. She will make more of an appearance later on. However, much like the Eva series, she's not shown very much right now either. Remember, she's mostly injured in the early episodes and doesn't make a real appearance until episode five. You will see her once I get there. Which seemed to be taking quite a while.

-Winry is going to make an appearance again. And she WILL wind up in the Eva world. How? When? Well, you will just have to find out!

-As for NERV finding out about the State Alchemist's not so wonderful past? Well, in a way, I don't think NERV really cares. After all, NERV isn't exactly a squeaky clean organization either. Especially since, almost ALL of the main characters are screwed up one way or the other.

-As for the S2 Engines? As you know, I want to make this story as accurate as possible. One of things that I guess is in contention is what exactly is the S2 Engine and if Unit 01 had it. Of course, it could be more of Ritsuko's 'disinformation.' But barring that, if I find more definitive answers, I might have to change that to a more general stuff inorder to keep it consistent. I'll look into it.

-Asuka like Winry? I don't know. I mean, they are both tough chicks. But Asuka is tough for another reason.

-Another semi-long AN, cut a bit short due to the revisions (I mean, some of them are simply redundant now that I've gone back and changed it right?). But since I don't have anything else to say at the moment, on with the story!

* * *

NERV Headquarters – Locker Room

Shinji was changing back into his normal clothes in the cool room filled with empty lockers. This locker room was for the part reserved for pilots that at the moment, there were only three in existence. And one of these pilots was not even in Japan. Why the locker room was this big was anyone's guess. Apparently NERV had greatly miscalculated how many pilots they would have. As Shinji was buttoning up his shirt, he was stopped by a wave Ed. "Hi Edward!"

"Hi Shinji!" Ed waved at him. "So, I see you're already ready to go back home!"

"Home." Shinji repeated. When Ed said it, he was wondering whether or not it was really his home. It was all last minute to him, with Misato taking him in and everything. And even then, did he ever consider where he was 'home' either?

Ed noted the change in tone when he said home. Ed dropped his head. He knew, in a way, what Shinji was thinking. "I guess you haven't thought of it as your home yet. I understand. My home is, well…" He looked down as he remembered burning down his house before he and Al left for Central, where he would become a State Alchemist. "I too, don't really have a home."

Shinji didn't speak up. He just stared at Ed.

"Yeah. You see, we burned down our home before my brother and I left to become a State Alchemist." Ed reminisced.

"State Alchemist?" Shinji asked confused. "Alchemy? Was that what you were doing when I first saw you guys?"

Ed nodded. "Yup!" Suddenly, Ed realized what he was doing. "Oh, I guess you haven't been told who we really are have you?"

"Um, not really." Shinji answered. "I mean, they told me that you're guys were transfers from Germany. But that's about it!"

Ed chuckled. They were even telling lies to Shinji. Despite the fact that he was the first to see them, and the first to probably know that he wasn't exactly from around here. Much less, that country, Germany that they said they were all from. _'I'm not even sure where this Germany is! Only that it was the nation that spoke Amestrisian.'_ He wasn't sure if he was supposed to tell about their origins, but it shouldn't hurt either. As long as he kept it quiet. He also didn't want to be lying to Shinji either. "Tell me Shinji, can you keep a secret?"

Shinji turned to him confused. "Yes?"

"Good." Ed looked from side to side. He wanted to make sure that no one was listening. Well, wrong person listening at least. "Say Shinji, do you believe that we came from Germany?"

Shinji thought about that one for a bit. "Well, you did speak German! At least, it sounded German."

"That's what they said too." Ed answered. "But you remember how we sort of just showed up right?"

Shinji thought back to that time. "Yeah. There was this blinding light, and then you were all there."

Ed nodded. "That's right! That was when we entered your world!"

Shinji blinked in amazement. "My world? You're saying that…"

"Yup!" Ed smiled. "We came from a completely different world then yours! Well, mostly different. You see, in that world, we came from a nation called Amestris."

Shinji was stunned. "So, you're from outer space?"

Ed frowned a bit. Shinji apparently watched a lot of science fiction shows, but the ones that stayed were the outer space dramas. Not the parallel universe shows. "Not… quite. We're from a different parallel universe from yours. I think."

"I see." Shinji said a little stunned. He was still trying to believe the fact that Ed was not from this planet, much less, from a 'parallel universe'. "This Amestris nation, people speak German there?"

"To us, we would be saying that the people of Germany speak Amestrisian. Anyways yeah, apparently we do speak the same language. And that's why when they were coming up with our fake identities here; they chose that nation as the one that we all came from! It was also convenient for them since one of NERV's major branches was there as well!" Ed replied with an eager smile. "Oh, and in our world, we have the ability to use alchemy!"

"Alchemy?" Shinji was trying to remember what alchemy was. "Isn't that where you try to change something into gold?"

"That's what you guys think alchemy is in this world!" Ed answered. "And in many ways, that's how it started. But in our world, alchemy has evolved into a lot more than that. We could, in theory, change anything object into another! Whether that would be changing rocks into a wall, or metal into gold! We use it for lot stuff! Fixing stuff, making toys…"

"Wow! That's amazing!" Shinji delightfully replied. "So how do you do this alchemy?"

Ed's smile started to fade. "You're going to find out since, I'm supposed to teach you it."

Shinji smile also faded. "Oh." Shinji relaxed a bit. "Was it an order from my father?"

"Your fath…him?" Ed frowned. "No. But it was an order."

"Why would I need to learn it?" Shinji asked.

Ed dropped his head a bit. "So that you can use it when you're piloting that machine. Unit 01 right?"

Shinji nodded as silence took hold in the locker room.

Shinji lowered his head. Finally, he spoke up in a low tone. "Well, if it is an order, I guess I should learn it then."

Ed didn't like Shinji's tone. His defeated sounded tone. "Shinji? Why did you agree to pilot the Eva again?"

Shinji simply stared into the abyss. "Because that's why I was brought here. I'm here to pilot Unit 01."

Ed gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure what to say to that. He couldn't say that he was wrong since, in a way, that's exactly why he was brought here. But at the same time, he also sounded like he accepted it as his sole purpose in life, to fight in that war machine.

After a few seconds of silence, Ed decided that he should drop that subject for now, and focus on another matter. "So, I'm starting school in a few weeks!"

"That's nice." Shinji replied unenthusiastically.

Ed smile disappeared. Neither of them found the need to further their discussion at this point.

-Later…

NERV Headquarters – Hallway

Edward walked down the hallway. He stopped when he realized, he had no idea where he was going. He took out a map of NERV that was in his pocket. "Now, where should I be going?"

Misato walked by. When she saw Ed, she stopped and turned to him. "Hey Edward!"

Ed stopped looking at the map, and looked up at Misato. "Captain?"

"You talked to Shinji yet?" Misato asked.

Ed lowered his head a bit. "Yeah. But he wasn't exactly in a mood to talk."

Misato frowned. "Yeah. I was afraid of that." After a short pause, Misato looked back at Ed. "Edward? Have you ever heard of the Hedgehog Dilemma?"

"Hedgehog Dilemma?" Ed shook his head. "No. I don't even know what a hedgehog is."

"Well, a hedgehog is an animal covered in sharp hard spiky hair." Misato answered. "So let's say that the hedgehog may wish to become closer with another hedgehog. However, the closer they get, the more they get injured with their hair. Some humans are like that as well."

"Hedgehog Dilemma huh?" Ed replied.

Misato nodded. "That's why Shinji seemed to be withdrawn. He's afraid of being hurt."

Ed thought about this for sometime. "Afraid of getting hurt, or at least afraid of getting hurt even more. Thanks Captain. I think I understand now."

-Later…

Elrics and Armstrong's Apartment

Ed was the first to enter the apartment. "We're home!"

Al popped up in front of him. "We must get Yu-Gi-Oh battle cards!"

Ed fell backwards and landed in front of Armstrong. "WHAT?"

Al started babbling. "On the movie radio! That show, I must collect all the battle cards so that…"

Ed slapped his forehead. "First Al, it's called a television."

"Television?" Al looked back at the device. "So that's what it is!"

Ed sighed. "And Al, just like the commercials you find on the radio back at home, you do NOT have to buy, whatever it is selling you!"

"But…" Al looked back at the television.

"They are just trying to sell you stuff!" Ed crossed his arms. "That's the way commercials work! Here, and back at home!"

"But, what about the Zatch Bell fighting cards? Or the Nintendo DS game?" Al asked eagerly.

Ed face faulted. "Al…"

Suddenly, Armstrong came up from behind Ed. He stood in front of Al and crossed his massive arms. "Alphonse Elric…"

Al shrank when he saw his 'guardian' looming over him.

"You had watched enough television!" Armstrong's booming voice sent Al to the floor in fear. "Go do something that will actually stimulate your mind like reading a book!"

Al was shaking on the ground. "Yes sir!" Al crawled away from that position.

Ed sighed. "We really need to find something better for Al to do."

Armstrong looked down at Ed. "You can't really take him outside the apartment. At least, right now."

"Yeah. He would attract too much attention. And the fact that his armor is hollow didn't help matter either." Ed rubbed his chin. "I guess the only thing we can do at the moment is to have him help me research the Philosopher's Stone. How he will do it here while I'm at NERV I don't know."

"That is true." Armstrong then thought about Edward's other job. Besides trying to research the Philosopher's Stone. "Ed, have you talked to Shinji about teaching him alchemy? And if you did, have you started?"

"Well, I met him, but we really haven't started yet. I'll see him in a few weeks at school. Though I'm hoping to see him again tomorrow." Ed turned away from Armstrong. "But still…"

"He does not look like a fighter." Armstrong replied as he thought about the boy. "So, are you going to put the fighting spirit into him?"

Ed's expression darkened. "I won't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do."

"If you insist Edward Elric." Armstrong replied. "However, if he is to be the pilot of that weapon, he has to be ready for it. Mentally, and maybe physically too."

"Yeah. That weapon." Edward agreed though deep down inside, he didn't like it.

Riza and Roy's Apartment

Roy Mustang entered his apartment. "I'm home." He said in a not so excited tone. He sighed. Suddenly, he took a whiff of something that was coming from the kitchen. It smelled quite good. He walked into the kitchen, and was surprised at what he saw. "Hawkeye? You can cook?"

Riza was wearing normal civilian clothes. White T-shirt, and some blue jeans. Both fit well on her despite the fact that NERV didn't have her sizes. Though she did plan to go shopping for more clothes, but the new discovery took up most of her time. At the moment, given that nothing was on the television that interested her, and was quite hungry now since she 'forgot' to eat lunch, Riza was busy cooking herself a meal. She chopped up some more veggies and placed them in a pan. "Why do you act so surprised Second Lieutenant Mustang?"

"Well I uh…" Roy stuttered as he was trying to figure out what he should say to her. "It's just that, I just…never imagined that…ummm…"

Riza grinned. "Just because I spend most of my time working, doesn't mean I can't find time to cook. Especially since in our world, we don't have 'instant noodles'." Riza poured in some chicken broth to the pot and started to stir it. "Besides Mustang, what do you eat when you're off duty? Don't tell me you only eat at the cafeteria? Or do you only eat sandwiches all day?"

"Ummm…well, actually…yeah. I eat sandwiches mostly." Roy admitted. "But, I can cook steak once in a while! Hehehe…"

Riza sighed. "Typical."

"So, finding stuff out about each other huh Roy?" Hughes smiled as he waved at him from the small dining table.

"Hughes?" Roy looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I invited him." Riza replied without turning away from her cooking. "No reason that he has to eat alone in this world!"

"Isn't she wonderful Roy?" Hughes brightly smiled. "She's so caring and thoughtful! Just like my wife…" Hughes trailed off.

Roy sadly frowned. "Hughes…"

"Colonel? Or Second Lieutenant? Or whatever you want to be called now, what did you do at NERV?" Hughes asked in a serious tone as he changed the subject a little.

Roy took a chair next to him and sat in it. "Armstrong and I were examining ways on how our alchemy can be useful to them. How it can be applied to the Evangelion Project."

"I see." Hughes looked down. "Have you started on ways to bringing us back home?"

Roy shook his head. "Not yet. Right now, we're trying to find our place at NERV. Don't worry, we will do research in that direction once we're settled in."

For a moment, neither of the men talked. The only sound in the room was from Riza cooking.

Then suddenly, Hughes broke the silence. "When you finally work on a way of getting home, please hurry."

Roy turned to Hughes. "Hughes?"

Hughes lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be ordering a superior. Heck, I shouldn't even…"

"It's okay Hughes." Roy lowered his head. "I will make sure that you will see your family again as soon as possible! That is my duty Maes!"

Hughes smiled. "Thanks Colonel."

Roy grinned. "You're welcome Lieutenant Colonel!"

Riza smiled at the turn of events behind her.

At that moment, Roy's stomach started to growl. He smiled. "Say Hawkeye! What's for dinner?"

Riza threw him a box, hitting Roy's head. "For you, something new today. Frozen dinner."

Roy rubbed the back of his head. He picked up the box and looked at it. "Frozen dinner? But…"

Hawkeye scowled. "Hughes and I are going to have chicken stew. For you, just follow the directions! Oh, and I suggest NOT using alchemy Second Lieutenant."

Roy grumbled. "It wasn't my choice Hawkeye." He read the directions on the back. He ripped open the box and took out the contents. "Let's see…" He looked at the food. Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and green beans and carrots. "So what I'm basically doing, is reheating food."

Riza nodded.

Roy continued to grumble. 'How long is this going to last?' He first looked at the microwave directions, and then to the oven directions. Both suggested poking holes over the veggies. So, he took a fork and did just that. Although he would love to use alchemy right now, knowing what happened the night before, he wisely decided not to do so. The microwave directions seemed to be faster then the oven directions. However, he had no idea how to use a microwave. He didn't really know how to use an oven either. But at least he knew what an oven was. _'A microwave? What's that?'_ "Um, Hawkeye, mind telling me what the…microwave is?"

Hawkeye pointed to the box next to her.

Roy looked at the box. He noticed a button that said _Open_, and pushed it. The 'door' opened on the microwave. "I guess I should put it in." He placed the frozen dinner into the box, and closed the door. As he looked at the keypad, he scratched his head. There were a lot of buttons; some even had words like 'popcorn' and one for 'defrost'. The box said nothing about defrost so that can't be it. It had a specific cook time. But how was he supposed to do that? "Ummmm…"

"Just punch in the number and press start Second Lieutenant." Riza placed a lid on her stew and reduced the heat, allowing it to simmer.

Roy scratched his head again. He did just what Riza said. First he pressed an 8. The digital output changed from showing the time, to the number 8. 'The box said that it was 8 and a half minutes. Does that mean I'm supposed to put it as eight fifty, or eight thirty?'

Riza eyed Roy. "It's eight thirty."

Roy blinked. "Oh! Ummmm…thanks! Hehehe." Roy scratched the back of head. He punched in a 3 and a 0 and pressed started. A light went on inside the microwave started heating the food. "Easy enough I guess."

"Good!" Riza spoke up. "Now you don't have to worry about dinner in this world from now on!"

"But…"

Riza glared at Roy.

Roy turned away. "Yes ma'am."

Hughes chuckled. "It's okay Roy! Things in the end will turn out just fine!"

Roy glared jealously at Hughes. He gets to eat Riza's cooking. Unlike him. "Shut up Hughes." Since he had all this time before his 'dinner' was ready, he sat down next to Hughes again. "Say Hughes, what did you do all day?"

"Me?" Hughes sat back in his chair. "I sat at the press briefing and asked a bunch of their prepared questions." Hughes frowned. "What they are feeding the public was that these Angels just suddenly showed up and started attacking the city. Where these 'Angels' came from is unknown. The only thing that was able to stop it was that robot that they used a few nights ago. They didn't even give it a name yet."

Roy sighed. "Figures. NERV had to say something. But in a controlled manner."

"Yup! Military is the same everywhere apparently." Hughes sighed before he grinned. "Though I would like to find out more about that big robot. And lucky me, I have a wonderful source sitting next to me!"

Roy grinned. "Careful Hughes, remember, you're just a civilian in this world! You don't want to be messing in places that you shouldn't be!"

"Yeah well, I guess I'll be a good boy then!" Hughes sat back in his chair. 'Doesn't mean I can't pry information out of him though!' "Oh yeah, and I had type up a report of the press briefing. I even learned out to use a computer! Amazingly, it wasn't that hard…"

"Computer?" Roy asked semi-astounded. "Computer and television. Are they the same thing?"

"Not really." Hughes replied. "While the television is basically like a radio with images, a computer is much more then that. Though I wasn't told how the machine worked, they did teach me how to write up a report, add pictures to the report if I wanted, and I could even do a little researched through this system they called the 'Internet' that connects many computers around the world! Holds a vast amount of information as well! Of course, I'm sure not all of it is accurate of course…"

"Television?" Riza heard that term and turned to the two. "So, that's what it was called?"

"That's right!" Roy nodded. "That thing you were watching is called a television. Or TV for short."

Riza nodded. "I see. Well Second Lieutenant, it's mine!"

Roy blinked. "What?"

"You heard me!" Riza turned to him. "I have priority over it!"

Roy sighed. "Sure Hawkeye." 'Now I REALLY need to find a way back home fast!'

-Three Weeks Later… 

The Alchemists all settled into their new lives with relative ease. At least, it was relative ease given their circumstance. For Roy, life at NERV meant following Ritsuko's orders. Not to mention trying to figure out what was 'normal' procedure here at NERV. At 'home', he had to contend with 'instant food' for the time being. Though he was lucky a few times and Riza allowed him to eat some of her home cooked meals. Keywords here, a few times.

Armstrong, along with Ed and Al, were all familiarizing themselves of the surrounded city. Though the first two spent most of time at NERV headquarters as they tried, a bit, unsuccessfully, on memorizing where everything was at NERV. Given the size of NERV, this was no easy task. Al remained home most of the time, and since they have not started real research on the Philosopher's Stone, this meant that Al remained glued to the TV. Now moved on to another anime… Naruto. For Ed though, he was not able to keep in touch with Shinji that much given their busy schedule. That should change as the third week rolled around, and his days as a student quickly approached.

Elrics and Armstrong's Apartment

Ed held a black Razr cellphone to his ear. He was in his school uniform ready to head off towards this school that NERV sent him to. He schedule was as followed; he was supposed to go to school first, then head to NERV right after the final bell rang. But right now, he still needed to know where that school was.

Misato picked up on the other side. "Hello?" Misato asked in a tired voice.

"Hey Captain!" Edward cheerfully replied. "I was wondering if you can get Shinji to show me where his school is!"

Ed could hear Misato yawn. "Shinji? Oh, I'm sorry. He already left for school. You could try his cell phone but…" After a few seconds of silence, with only the sound of shuffling in the background, Misato came back. "Figures. He didn't take it."

Ed dropped his head. "Okay. I guess I'll have to ask someone else."

"Yeah. Sorry Edward." Misato replied. "If I knew, I would've gotten him for ya."

"It's okay." Edward replied as he walked into the living room. "I'll see if I can catch Second Lieutenant Ibuki. Bye."

"Bye Ed." Misato replied before a click is heard.

Ed placed the phone in his pocket. He turned to the side, and low and behold, Al was watching TV. "Al, don't watch too much TV okay?"

"Sure brother!" Al replied without turning away from the television screen.

Armstrong walked up next to him. Again, he wore his NERV uniform. "Edward, I take it Shinji won't be showing you where his school is?"

Ed shook his head. "Nope. Now I have to ask if Second Lieutenant Ibuki if she can show me."

Armstrong opened the door. To their surprise, Maya was standing right there in front of them.

"So, Ed, need a ride to your school?" Maya asked in a reserved voice.

Edward blinked. "Um…yeah. How did you…"

"Just intuition I guess." Maya replied nonchalantly. "And for you Alex?"

Armstrong looked down at the woman in front of him. "I'm fine. I think I'll try out this, Subway system for now. By the way, is it okay…"

Maya smiled. "Again, you two don't have to be all official with me! I wouldn't have a problem being called Maya even at work!"

Ed nodded. "Okay, Maya. Well, guess you should show me the way!"

-Later…

District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School

Edward stood quietly outside Class 2-A before entering. He held his transfer papers in one hand, and his book bag in the other. As he walked through the school, he noticed that it was pretty empty for a school this size. _'Can't blame them though. They probably all left when that Angel attacked. I doubt many people like being inside a war zone.'_ Ed used his gloved right hand, and opened the door. As he opened the door, he could hear a bunch of students sitting down at the same time. _'Huh? What was that all about?'_

The professor was about to lecture when he sees that a new student entered the classroom.

"Sorry for the intrusion Professor." Edward bowed and handed him a piece of paper.

The elderly professor looked at the piece of paper. "Class, I would like to introduce to you a new transfer student! Edward Elric from Germany!"

Ed stood in front of the class. He looked at the classmates in front of him. It seemed full compared to the other classes. Apparently, due to falling attendance, many of the other classes were combined into this one. Still, even with this many people, there were a few seats open in the class, one even next to Shinji who seemed stunned to see Ed here. Ed smiled at him. As he continued to scan the room, he also noticed Rei Ayanami, bandaged up since the accident, staring outside the window in the corner. _'Maybe I should talk to her too.'_

Shinji stared at the fellow NERV member. He was a little surprised that Ed was in his class. Given how smart he seemed to be, he would've expected him to be in a class higher then his.

Throughout the class, Ed could hear whispers coming from the students about his arrival.

"Another new student? This is odd! Most people are leaving this area! Not entering it!" A female student whispered.

"Why is he wearing a glove on one hand? Does he think he's Michael Jackson or something?" A boy whispered to the person next to him.

"He must work for NERV! They're the only ones that are moving into this city!" A certain boy with glasses whispered to a dark haired boy wearing gym clothes.

"He's from Germany? I thought Europeans were tall!" A nonspecific female whispered.

"I know! He's like a midget or something!" Another female student commented.

A vain throbbed on Edward's head. 'I hear something resembling midget out there!'

"You can sit in the empty seat next to Shinji Ikari." The professor asked.

"Yes professor!" Ed, ignoring, or at least, trying to ignore all the comments he was getting, sat next to Shinji and waved at him with a smile.

Shinji looked at him wide eyed for a moment. Then, he dropped his head and stared into the abyss.

Ed smiled faded. _'This will take some time I guess.'_ He then looked back at Rei Ayanami.

Rei never even acknowledge his existence from the time he stepped into the classroom.

'_Strange girl. She seems to be quieter then even Shinji! Well, it's not fair to say that right now since I haven't properly introduced myself, but from the looks of it, she doesn't seem to be the social type either. I wonder if the Doctor wants me to teach her alchemy as well. When she's healed of course.'_ Ed thought as he turned his attention back to the professor as he began his lecture.

"Continuing from yesterday, Second Impact, caused massive planetary changes when the comet hit Antarctica…" The professor lectured.

_Ed was writing this down when suddenly, he realized something. 'Wait! That's not how Second Impact happened! So, NERV is keeping even the reason why we are fighting these Angels a secret! Heh. Wonder how far the lies go?'_

Shinji wasn't paying attention to the professor. Like everyone else, no one really cared about what the professor was saying. After all, most of them heard it all before. Shinji, well, he didn't care period. Suddenly, he heard a ring from his computer. Shinji looked down and saw a question being asked. _Is it true that you are the pilot? Y/N_.

Ed was one of the few people interested in what the professor was trying to say. While he knew a lot of it was false, that doesn't mean all the events that happened afterwards was wrong either. _'Sounds bad. World wars, famine, plagues…I guess that's expected when the whole world changed forever.'_ At that moment, he heard a ping coming next to him. _'Huh? What's that?'_ Ed turned to Shinji. He noticed Shinji looking at a computer. He then looked at the device in front of him_. 'That must be that computer that the people at NERV use. Huh. Apparently even the school has them!'_ He looked at Shinji again and noticed him looking around the classroom. _'Whatever happened, seemed to have him concerned.'_

Shinji looked around the room. _'Who could've sent this question?'_ He looked back and saw a few girls waving at him. _'Could they have sent the message?'_ He then noticed that the question was repeated again. _'Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt if I answered it…'_ He carefully typed in the word _Yes_.

Suddenly, the entire class, with the exception of Rei and Edward, got up and went to Shinji. They were all awed by the revelation.

Ed stared at the group. "Huh? What's all this about Shinji?"

Shinji was too shocked about his newfound fame. "Ummmm…"

Shinji was bombarded with questions about the Eva.

"Really?" One student excited proclaimed.

"Oh wow!" Another student excitedly said.

"Cool!" Another student let out.

"Really? The new student was?" One student asked another who apparently didn't look at his computer.

Ed blinked_. 'They must've asked him if he was the pilot of that Eva through the computer! I didn't think all of them got the answer at the same time!'_

Kensuke blinked in amazement as well. _'How did they all find out? I thought I was the only one!'_

In the middle of the commotion, an apparently bossy girl yelled back at them. Either that, or she was class leader or something. "Hey you guys! We're still in class, you know! Sit down now!"

As Ed listened in on the commotion, a smile appeared on his face. "You know, maybe things won't be so bad for Shinji!"

A certain black haired boy eyed wearily at Shinji.

-Later… 

Shinji got up from his desk and started to leave. Unbeknownst to him, Touji and Kensuke followed him out the door immediately.

Ed noticed Shinji leave. He also noticed the two boys leaving after him. 'That doesn't look good.' "Hey Shinji, wait!" Before he could leave however, that bossy girl from before stopped him.

"Hello Edward Elric!" Hikari proudly stood in front of him. "My name Hikari Horaki! I'm the Class Representative for Class 2-A!"

"Class Representative…" Ed didn't know what that was. But he also didn't care at that moment either since he needed to talk to Shinji. And maybe stop whatever that kid was going to do to him. "Excuse me…" Ed tried to sidestep Hikari.

Hikari sidestepped to the side, again blocking his path. "Since I assume you are new to our kind of school system, coming from a European school system, I would like to tell you a few things that might seem foreign to you!"

Ed looked at the perky teenager in front of him. "Um, thanks Miss Horaki, but I…" Ed again tried to sidestep her.

Hikari sidestepped in front of him again before she continued without missing a beat. "In our school system, there is one Class Representative per class! In this class, that Class Representative is me!"

"Class Representative. Yeah! So…" Ed again tried to sidestep Hikari, and she again sidestepped in front of him.

Hikari wasn't done with Ed. "As Class Representative, I'm supposed to arrange the seating chart and make sure that absent students are kept up to date and ready!"

"Thanks!" Ed smiled at her. "But right now…"

Hikari wouldn't let Ed go. "But my most important job is keeping the class in line! I mean, today wasn't exactly a good day, but still, for the most part, I keep things in line! Every morning before the professor walks in, I give a number of orders, rise, bow, sit! Everyone must follow this in order to give respect for the professor! You probably know about our custom of bowing!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ed wanted to get out of that class immediately. "Thanks for the info Miss Horaki! But if you…"

"If you need anymore help, you can…" Hikari was cut off as Ed quickly shook her left hand. The feel of his gloved hand stunned her since it wasn't anything she had felt before. It felt, metallic in a way.

"Yeah! I'll do that!" Ed quickly wrote down his cell phone number and handed it to her. "If you have anything else to talk to me about, just call me! Now, if you excuse me…" Ed sidestepped a still stunned Hikari and ran out of the room.

Hikari was still trying to contemplate what she just felt. _'His hand…'_ Suddently, she looked at the note she held in her hand. _'Did he…did he just give me his personal number?' _Hikari blushed at the thought. _'I mean I know he's a little short but…'_

Outside District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School

Ed ran outside the school. "Shinji?" Ed stopped dead in his tracks as he sees him lying on the ground.

Shinji was on the ground. He was rubbing his mouth where a bruise which was quite apparent.

"Sorry newcomer. But I got to beat you up!" Touji rubbed his fist. "I've got to work off my anger."

Ed gritted his teeth. _'What did Shinji do to you?'_ Little did he know, just moments later, he would get his answer.

Kensuke leaned in close to Shinji. "Sorry, his sister was injured because of the incident!" Kensuke got up from his position and took a step away. "That's his excuse anyway."

Ed's anger dissipated a little bit. Just a bit. He still believed that Touji needed a good beating, but at least he knew why he did what he did. At the moment though, he was more concerned about Shinji's well being. He ran up to Shinji and kneeled beside him and gave him a hand. "Are you okay Shinji?"

Shinji wiped the blood away from his cheek. "I didn't have a choice to pilot it." He quietly responded.

Touji, who was walking away at that moment, then stopped in his tracks. He turned around and stared at Shinji. He responded in a low threatening voice. "What the fuck did you say?"

Ed stood up in front of Touji and stared down the…ummmm…taller boy. "He didn't have a choice in the matter!" Ed stared back at Touji. "Look, I'm sorry what happened to your sister. But Shinji was more or less, forced to pilot that stupid weapon!" _'If anyone deserved a punch, it would be Shinji's father!'_

Touji shut his fist tighter. "Stay out of this pip-squeak!"

Unfortunately for Touji, that was a mistake he wouldn't soon forget. "Who you calling a pip-squeak?"

Kensuke and Shinji watched in shock as the tiny man started to pulverize the taller Touji.

"Oh. Ow. Eek. That's gotta hurt!" Kensuke squinted and squirmed with each blow as Touji tried to block each attack. "Mental note! Don't mention the foreigner's height."

"Ow!" Touji rubbed his bruised cheek after Ed was done. Touji learned a valuable lesson today; don't make fun of the foreigner's height. But what was he being hit with? "What the heck is your hand made out of you crazed freak?"

Ed narrowed his eyes at him. He took off his glove and rolled up his sleeve.

Kensuke and Touji's eyes widened.

"A robot arm?" Touji wildly responded with his initial anger now completely forgotten. "Shit! Why the heck did I pick a fight with him?"

Kensuke eyes widened in amazement. "I didn't realize that prosthetic technology went so far!"

Touji got up from his position. He stared first at Ed, and then to Shinji. When his eyes locked on Shinji, his anger quickly returned. "Well, I'll deal with this later newcomers." He started to walk away from them.

Kensuke walked along side his friend. He looked one last time at the two, before he left with Touji.

"Pip-squeak." Ed rolled down his sleeve and put his glove back on. He rubbed his fist as he watched the two departing classmates.

"Why?"

Ed stopped as he heard Shinji call out. He turned back and kneeled in front of him.

"Why did you help me?" Shinji asked with confusion in his eyes.

Ed's eyes softened. "Because, we hedgehogs have to stick together!" Ed smiled.

"Hedgehog?" Shinji asked confused.

Ed was about to respond when he looked up and noticed the injured Rei Ayanami standing over them.

Ed looked up at the near expressionless girl.

Shinji was the first to speak up. "Ayanami?"

"We've got an emergency call." The injured girl replied. "I'll go." She quickly ran from the area.

'_First time I heard Rei talk.'_ Ed thought. _'From the sounds of it, she too, seemed to be doing this because of orders. Though she doesn't seem to mind piloting it with her lack of emotion.'_

Shinji slowly got up from his position. "I guess I should be going."

"Yeah." Ed replied. "I'll be…"

The siren started to ring out.

"A special state of emergency has been declared for the Kanto and Chubu region surrounding the Tokai district. All residents must evacuate to their designated shelters immediately." A voice rang out from the intercom.

Hikari ran out from the corner. "Edward Elric! What are you doing just standing there?"

Ed looked back at the Class Rep. "Huh? I was just…" He turned back and noticed that Shinji was gone. "Ummm…"

"We have to get to the shelter now!" Hikari grabbed Ed's artificial arm. "Since you're new here, I guess you don't know where it is! Here! I'll show you!"

Hikari was dragging Ed. "Wait! I work for…"

-Meanwhile…

Riza and Roy's Apartment

Riza was sitting on the couch watching the television. She had a box of tissues next to her. She was watching a Japanese soap opera _As the Days Turn_.

TV - As the Days Turn

"Minako!" A tall man in the soap opera with gelled hair grabbed a longed haired woman. "Why are you running from me? I love you Minako!"

"Oh Ken! I'm sorry." Minako eyes were filled with tears. "I can't Ken!"

"Why?" Ken, filled with overacted emotion asked to the teary eyed Minako.

"Because Ken…" Minako turned away from him. "I'm pregnant!"

"Pregnant?" Ken was shocked by the revelation. Shocked! "Who's the father?"

Minako's tears started up again. "The father is…"

Suddenly, the show was interrupted.

Back to the Real World… 

"NO!" Riza screamed as the soap opera was interrupted by an emergency broadcast. She growled as she watched the emergency broadcast.

TV – _Emergency News Broadcast_

A young newswoman looked straight at the camera. She was sitting behind a news desk. Behind her was a map of Japan. Under her, a news ticker repeated the main news of the day. "We interrupt this broadcast in order to bring you this special report. A state of emergency has been declared Kanto and Chuba region surrounding the Tokai district. All residence must evacuate to their designated shelters immediate."

Back to the Real World…

Riza growled again. "Very well." She holstered her gun, retrieved her ID and permit, and a map to the shelter. "I hope that robot destroys that Angel fast. I MUST find out who's the father of Minako's baby!"

-Meanwhile…in another Universe…

Riza Hawkeye's Residence

After filling Black Hayate's bowl full of food and water, Sergeant Major Kain Fury tried to pet him.

Black Hayate glared at Kain. "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Kain backed up a bit. "Hey! I'm sorry I'm not First Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc took a puff from his cigarette. He rested his head on the wall. "Why don't you take him in already? The Lieutenant is probably gone anyways!"

"No!" Kain yelled back at him. "I mean, we shouldn't think that! After all, the military still list them as…"

"MIA I know." Havoc sighed. "Look, I don't want to believe it anymore then you do. But you saw the town! Completely gone!"

"I know." Kain slowly approached Black Hayate again. "But, until they find a body, I won't give up hope! I'm sure he won't either."

Black Hayate finally allowed himself to be petted. He also started to whimper.

Central Train Station

Winry got off the train the crowded train. She was holding her suitcase and was wearing short shorts, and what was basically a tube top, with a black jacket over it. Since the town was completely gone, there was no train service to Southern Vale of course. She needed to take a cab the rest of the way. However, she never really thought about what she would do if she got there. Heck, she wasn't sure what she should do in Central either. "Now what am I supposed to do here?" She looked around the crowded station. She dropped her head. "I guess I should find a hotel first before I take a trip to Southern Vale."

"You're going to need military permission to go there ma'am!" A man behind her said.

Winry turned around. "And let me guess, you're going to give me one if you…" Winry's eyes widened as she sees who it was.

The eye patched Fuhrer Bradley smiled back at her.

Winry frantically bowed down many times in front of him. "I'm sorry Fuhrer! If I knew it was you, I wouldn't have been so disrespectful!"

Fuhrer Bradley waved her off. "It's okay ma'am."

Winry looked up at the Fuhrer. "So, the area around the Southern Vale is sealed off to civilians huh?"

Fuhrer Bradley nodded. "I don't know why a young lady like yourself would want to see it. Given what used to be there, it would simply break your heart."

Winry saddened. "I just want to check something. That's all. I heard one of my friends was there. Edward Elric?"

"Edward Elric? You're a friend of the Fullmetal Alchemist?" The Fuhrer watched Winry nod. "I see. I guess you want to see the area for yourself_." 'I would like to check something too.'_ The Fuhrer thought. "Tell you what, I'll give you permission to view the area. I'll have to write up the paperwork and so forth, but given that I am the Fuhrer, that shouldn't be a problem!" The Fuhrer smiled brightly. "Although that will take some time…how about if you stay at my mansion for tonight?"

Winry's eyes widened. "Oh you're too kind Fuhrer! I…I don't know what to say!" Winry bowed again.

"Don't worry about it!" The Fuhrer replied. "I'm just helping a friend of one of my top alchemist!"

* * *

-------End of Chapter 6

Whoa. Things are getting good now! With the characters more or less settled, things are starting FINALLY happen!

A few things I will note. First, I know it is called Gash Bell in Japan. To be specific, Konjiki no Gash Bell. But since everyone here probably knows it as Zatch Bell, I'm keeping that in.

Second, I know the day when Shinji is asked that question it isn't a two days or so after he wakes up that I have implied here. Problem is, I don't know when exactly he is asked that question, just that it is somewhere between those 20 or so days that Rei Ayanami is still too injured to pilot Unit 00. I thought about changing it so it would be given more time, but then I would have to change the wording in the previous chapters too (I said Ed was transferred a day after Shinji in the previous chapter. Barring extending his stay in this chapter, making this chapter even longer, that is what I would probably do to stay consistent with the Eva episodes). In the meantime, I'm pressing forward with this story!

Third, this is the first time I actually used dialogue found in Episode 3 (Six chapters, and all I got up to is Episode 3? And STILL there? Get ready for the long haul people!), up until that point, it was mostly original with only the events not the same! The only reason why I did that, well, to have a more direct connection to the series of course! Still, unlike the other story, those bits of 'unoriginality' will obviously be far and few between.

Fourth, am I hinting a little Hikari/Ed? Don't worry. There is only one girl for Ed! ;-) But I will say, I'm not a huge fan of Touji/Hikari. But don't worry Touji/Hikari fans, chances are, it will turn out that way in the end anyways (although whether or not Touji will be hurt like he was in the anime, or even worse, that's another story entirely).

Fifth, if you notice, they do speak German as I believed the Amestrisians do. Whatever they call themselves. And I could've used some of that in the first chapter when Ed was talking to Shinji. But then, while I knew a little about Japanese, I don't know ANYTHING about German. So, any German in this story would've been due to Babelfish. And you know how accurate that could be!

Sixth, guess what? This chapter IS shorter then I originally planned again. Why? Again, the length of the chapter. This chapter turned out to be longer then I expected word wise. I originally thought about going up to the actual Angel fight. But that would probably take another 3000-4000 words. Plus 7000 words that this chapter is (actually, 6400 if you take away the AN at the beginning), that's a really long chapter. That's supposing that I won't be cutting short either (I have a feeling I will make it to the timeline of Episode 4 in the next chapter. Though it still won't be short, especially since Ed WON'T be with Shinji at NERV. But will they meet again in another way? Wink! Wink!). Also, took me longer to write it then normal. Not because I couldn't think of what to do next (although trying to think what Ed would do in a given situation did take up a lot of my time), but simply the fact that I didn't have time. Been kind of busy recently.

Next Chapter…the Second Angel attacks! Technically the Fourth Angel, but the second Angel where that the Eva's fight. How will the events be with the FMA group there? Until then…later!


	7. The Fourth Angel

-1-This is Chapter 7 of Fullmetal Evangelion.

-I cut these Ans short from what they were initially (especially redundant ranting). Though I kept these, just for reference sake.

-Concerning schools, in the manga, during their reminiscence with Izumi, there was a bit of them in a regular school setting (a small school, but a school nonetheless). Wasn't much (a whooping ONE page and a half devoted to it), and the two boys were, shall we say, didn't care much for it (the teacher mentioned a math test, which they said was boring. Ironic given their knowledge of alchemy, a science dealing with numbers) but it was there. BTW, read the recent translated scanlations. Shows even more differences between two versions (manga/anime) are! Though again, this story takes more of the anime then the manga.

-Touji and Hikari or Hikari and Ed? Answer? Probably Touji and Hikari. Remember, Ed's pretty much taken (coughWinrycough). However, when she does enter the Eva world, seeing Hikari hanging around Ed a little too much could be a ton of fun!

-Before I start this chapter, one thing I like to address, reviews! While I got a pretty decent number of reviews since the last update, it was still, the second lowest number of review between updates. Don't worry; I'm not going to turn into one of those authors who say 'I won't update until I get so and so reviews!' Even if I get zero, I'd still update this story! And I really shouldn't expect to have tons of reviews after each update. Still, as I have said before, I like reading them, especially when it comes to suggestions or little criticism (like the S2 Engines). Though I guess I was just a little bummed since the other update (Silent Titan) got a whooping 2 reviews given that it's supposed to be my most popular story of all them (27 people have it under their favorites. Of course, part of it I could blame on the Teen Titan section being super popular. Ironic yes, but with so many stories, even one like mine could be lost in the shuffle). So please review!

-Without further ado…

NERV Headquarters – Training Facility

Maya blinked at the scene that lay before her. Both Warrant Officer Armstrong, and Second Lieutenant Mustang were able to manipulate matter in front of them, they were also able to control it! "I couldn't believe that alchemy really existed! I mean when I read it, it was just…wow!"

Ritsuko glared at her subordinate from the corner of her eye. "Wasn't that information classified even to you Second Lieutenant?"

"Uh…" Maya melted under Ritsuko's glare. "I just…peeked?" Maya replied in a very soft voice. In a much stronger voice, she tried to defend herself. Though it came out as nothing more than babbling. "I mean, I didn't mean to…besides, we're umm…"

Ritsuko grinned. "Don't worry Second Lieutenant. I won't hold it against you. Especially since you were going to find out anyways being my subordinate."

Maya sighed in relief. "Thanks ma'am." Though she wasn't sure what Ritsuko might have done, she was certain that it wasn't good. "Anyways, yeah, I can't believe this alchemy really exist!"

"I couldn't believe it myself until they transferred here." Ritsuko commented to her subordinate.

"I can't believe the German Branch would keep their abilities a secret to us." Maya continued. "Shouldn't the German Branch have told us about them given that we basically control them?"

'_Well, it's not that surprising given that they weren't from Germany…' _"Well, we'll deal with the German Branch later. Besides, now that they are under my jurisdiction, all information about them is now ours." Ritsuko replied. She then turned to Armstrong. "Warrant Officer Armstrong, so you can basically turn a normal boulder into a projectile weapon with alchemy and physical strength." Ritsuko said to the massive man next to her. "And instead of writing down the array every time, you simply have it imprinted on your gauntlet that you wear."

Armstrong nodded. "Yes! It obviously saves time on my part. Some people have it tattooed onto their body. However…" Armstrong ripped open his shirt. "I do not dare ruin this with permanent body ink!" Armstrong started flexing his muscles. Sparkles appeared all around him.

Maya's eyes widened and nearly bulged out of her head. _'Did he just…'_

Ritsuko sweat dropped. "Do you have to do that every time?"

Armstrong continued to pose. "I want everyone to see the awe of my impressive physic!"

Maya's was stuck wide-eyed and were fixed on Armstrong.

"Oooooookay. Anyways…" She turned to Roy. "And you Second Lieutenant, you have it on your glove I see."

Roy nodded. "And not just any gloves. These gloves are made with special fibers." He made a snap. "Make a spark…"

"Use alchemy to condense the oxygen around it, and you get a fireball." Ritsuko finished. "You showed me before. Especially when you were OFF duty."

Roy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hehehe…oh yeah that!"

"If alchemy could be applied to the Evas, we can simply imprint the alchemic circle into the armor." Ritsuko surmised.

"Sounds about right." Armstrong replied. "IF of course they can be applied to the Evas."

"True." Ritsuko then thought about another issue. "By the way, if you don't have to write down the array if you have it imprinted somewhere, then why do people still write it down then?" Ritsuko asked. "I mean, besides losing that article of clothing where it's on of course. Heck, why doesn't everyone just tattoo it to themselves?"

Roy crossed his arms and grinned. "Simple really. Depends on what you want to transmute, skill level, and how you want to do it." He showed his gloves. "These are good at making fireballs, but not so good with fixing a broken pot for example. And this is especially true if you want to transmute something big. Even Fullmetal, Ensign Edward Elric, who doesn't need a transmutation circle, still needs to make one in certain cases."

"Yeah." Ritsuko then blinked as she remembered something. "Speaking of Ed, how can he transmute without a circle? And can anyone else do it?"

Roy shrugged his shoulders. "All we know is that only a select few can actually do it. His professor for example, is one of them. But how they do it is still a mystery to most of us. If anyone can answer that, it would be Fullmetal. Speaking of which…"

"Where exactly is…" Ritsuko was cut short as an alarm sounded off.

The alarm also snapped Maya back to reality. "Huh?"

They all look around as the alarm sounded throughout NERV Headquarters.

"Looks like the next Angel is upon us." Ritsuko commented. "Maya, Go back to your station and await for Shinji to arrive."

"Right ma'am!" Maya nodded and instantly ran to her station.

"As for you two…" Ritsuko turned to Roy and Armstrong. "Come with me. I want you two to see the Angel attack from our perspective."

"Yes ma'am." Both Roy and Armstrong replied and followed Ritsuko to the command center.

334th Underground Shelter Tokyo 3 Disaster Prevention Department

Ed looked around the shelter. Many of them were students, but not all of them. They seemed to all be from the surrounding areas. They were all on blue mats as they wait out the crisis. To a certain extent, he was not supposed to be there. But given the persistence of the Class Rep, here he was. He sat down at one of the mats and closed his eyes. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do except wait for Shinji to defeat that Angel."

Hikari sat next to him. "So, you know Shinji?"

Ed eyed Hikari for a second, before closing his eyes again. "Yeah, you could say that." Ed replied off handedly to the Class Rep. "We work for the same people."

Hikari eyes widened. "You're telling me that you work for Nerv?"

Ed nodded. "Yup! Don't ask me what I do there…" Ed placed a hand to the side of his mouth and whispered to Hikari. "It's classified!"

Hikari nodded vigorously. "Yes! I won't ask! Oh wait! Does that mean…"

Ed sat back. "Sort of. But don't worry. My services aren't really needed right now anyways." His right arm made a sound.

And that sound, the sound of metal moving against metal caused Hikari to stare at his arm. Suddenly, she sees a bit of Ed's cuff was no longer on top of the glove, exposing his metallic arm. "Oh my! How did you…"

Ed looked at where Hikari was looking, and then to his arm. "Oh this?" He rolled up his sleeve and took off his glove. "It was…an accident when I was young. I lost an arm and leg…" He rolled up his left leg, exposing his automail leg to her. "During that 'accident'."

"I see." Hikari replied off handedly. She was both amazed and saddened at this revelation. _'I can't believe someone as young as him, as young as me, could suffer such an injury.' _Then her eyes widened as she realized what she just said. "Oh, I'm sorry. It probably brought up bad memories! I didn't mean to…"

Ed chuckled. "Don't worry! It was bad, but I'm not going to let it bother me."

"Edward?" A certain woman spoke from above him.

Ed instantly turned to the voice. "Miss Hawkeye? This was the shelter they sent you to?"

"Apparently so." Riza replied as she sat next to him.

Hikari looked at Riza. "Oh hi! Do you know Edward? Are you from Germany too?"

Riza looked at Hikari. "Yes and…yes. And who's your friend Edward?"

"Oh her?" Ed turned to Hikari. "She's the Class Representative of our class."

Riza gave a hand to Hikari. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Riza Hawkeye. The…wife of one of Edwards co-workers."

"Oh how nice!" Hikari took Riza's hand and shook it. "My name Hikari Horoki! Class Representative of Tokyo 3 District 13 Class 2-A!"

"You're quite the energetic one." Riza commented.

"Well, I am Class Representative for a reason!" Hikari proudly proclaimed. "So, did you come to Japan before Edward here?"

"Actually, we both came at the same time. We were here three weeks ago." Riza replied.

"Three weeks ago?" Hikari raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Isn't that the same time Shinji arrived?" She turned to Ed. "Then how come you just transferred to our school today?"

"Well…" Ed scratched the back of his head. "There was a little problem with the paperwork so…"

"Ah!" Hikari replied. "Guess transferring from a foreign country is different then simply transferring from another part of Japan."

"Pretty much." Ed replied. "Especially since we sort of…lost our paperwork."

Hikari blinked at that statement. "You did?"

"There was an accident on the airplane that we were on." Riza butted in.

"That stinks." Hikari commented. She looked at Ed and smiled. "Well, glad things all worked out in the end!"

Riza looked at Hikari, and then back at Ed. She grinned. "Ed, wouldn't Winry be a little jealous with you hanging out with Hikari?"

Ed eyes widened. "What…what do you mean?"

Hikari looked at Riza. "Winry? Who's Winry?"

"Oh her?" Ed looked at Hikari. "She's the one that gave me this arm. And leg."

Riza grinned. "Yup! She would."

"Wow! She must be really talented." Hikari noted.

"What are you implying Miss Hawkeye?!" Ed looked at Riza with a pissed off expression.

Hikari frowned a bit. Although she doesn't know anything about this Winry, she was a little…jealous of her? _'Why should I be? It's only Ed. I just know him from today! A little short but cute…oh my god! Did I just think that?'_

Suddenly, a rumble went through the place.

"Looks like it started." Ed commented.

-Meanwhile…

"What? Are you nuts?" Touji pointed at Hikari and Ed. "Look whose she's with!"

"Crazy robotic arm kid?" Kensuke replied. "Don't worry! We won't be dealing with him right now!"

Hikari turned away from the woman she was talking to, to the excited two boys behind her. "What do you guys want?"

"Ah!" Touji and Kensuke stood up right.

Ed glared at the two.

"Oh hi robotic arm student!" Kensuke waved at him.

'_Robotic arm student? That's new. At least he didn't call me short.' _Ed thought. "Hi." He replied in a deep slightly harsh tone.

"So what is it that you two want from me?" Hikari asked a little annoyed.

"Uh…" Finally, Touji composed himself. "We need to go to the bathroom."

Hikari closed her eyes in an attempt to suppress her growing aggravation of the two. Although she did hold a certain fondness to Touji most of the time, this was not one of them. "You were supposed to do that before you came here."

"Well…" Touji looked around. "We didn't have to go then…but now…" He grabbed his privates and frantically went from side to side.

"I get it fine. Go already!" Hikari replied.

NERV Headquarters – Command Center

"Impressive." Roy commented as he sees the city sink below the surface. "I haven't seen anything like it."

"So the city is built in preparation for this." Armstrong said as he looked at the state of Tokyo 3.

"Pretty much." Ritsuko replied as she assessed the situation. "We knew the Angels would attack. Though we weren't sure exactly when."

"And speaking of which, the Fourth Angel would show up while Commander Ikari is away." Misato said annoyed. "It's a lot sooner then we expected."

"A lot sooner?" Armstrong repeated.

"I said that we weren't sure when the Angels would attack." Ritsuko reiterated. "I never said that we didn't have our estimates."

"And Commander Ikari is away?" Roy asked behind Ritsuko and Misato.

Ritsuko nodded. "He's currently in the South Pole doing some research."

"Where it all started." Armstrong commented.

'_Too bad Ed isn't here.'_ Roy thought. _'He would probably be glad that Commander Ikari wasn't here. Even for the day.'_

Makoto looked back at the group. "The last time they gave us a fifteen years break. This time it's only three weeks."

"They never care about our situation do they? They're the type we women hate the most." Misato replied.

"I am not like those men Captain Katsuragi! For I…" Armstrong was about to rip his shirt off again.

Ritsuko put a hand up. "I don't think so. And that's an order."

They all watch the monitors where they see missiles and machines guns firing at the sea animal-like Angel with absolutely no effect.

"It's a waste of the taxpayers money." Kozou said behind them.

Aoba replaced the phone and turned back to Misato and the others. "The committee is demanding that we dispatch the Evangelion again."

"Oh, they get on my nerves." Misato replied annoyed. "If they hadn't asked for it, I'd have mobilized it anyway."

"It's too bad I didn't ask Edward to teach Shinji alchemy three weeks ago." Ritsuko commented as Shinji was being prepped into his Evangelion. "This could've been the perfect test subject."

"Unfortunate indeed." Kozou replied behind them.

"Alchemy ma'am?" Aoba replied with a questioning look.

"We'll fill you in later." Misato looked back at the monitors. "Anywise, Guess we're have to do this the old fashion way!"

334th Underground Shelter

"So, even you're here Hughes." Ed waved at him.

"You can call me Maes if you want Ed!" Hughes waved back. "Yup. Being a common everyday civilian, I can't go anywhere! Even a press pass has its limits!"

Riza sat holding her legs on the ground. "Well, I'm just glad you're safe from the Angel attack."

Hikari looked around the group. "Say, aren't Suzuhara and Aida finished yet?"

"Maybe they really REALLY had to go! You know when you just have one of those days!" Hughes joked.

"Ha ha ha. Very funny Hughes." Riza said dryly. She was not amused by Hughes's joke.

Ed frowned. _'What are those two up to?' _"I'm going to check on them." Ed got up from his seat.

"Thanks Elric!" Hikari smiled at him. "They better not be in any trouble!"

Ed grumbled. "And if they are, they are going to have something coming to them." Ed walked down the hallway that led to the bathroom that was near the exits. Suddenly, he sees the door to the shelter, open. He investigated the door. "Don't tell me…" He next walked out and saw the stairs next to him.

Outside the Shelter

Ed looked up the stairs and sees the two losers on top of them, over looking the city. He sighed. While he didn't like them, that didn't mean he wanted them dead either. And given Shinji's mental state, losing innocent civilians because of something he did wouldn't be good either_. 'Better get both of them before they get themselves hurt.'_

NERV Headquarters - Command Center

'_Why do I have to pilot it even though my father isn't even here?' _Shinji thought, as Unit 01 was placed into the elevator, ready to launch. _'I even got beaten up today.'_

"Shinji, are you ready?" Misato said over the com-link.

"Yes." Shinji unenthusiastically replied.

Ritsuko was the next to speak up. "First, neutralize the enemy's AT Field, then fire a volley. Do it just like we practiced. Can you handle that?"

"Yes." Shinji again replied unenthusiastically.

"So, by the book I see." Roy commented.

"Pretty much." Ritsuko replied. "As long as he does that, he shouldn't have any problems."

"Of course, this is only the second time he fought an Angel with an Eva." Armstrong added.

"Well, that's true…" Ritsuko conceded.

'And so it begins.' Misato thought. "Launch!" She yelled.

Unit 01 was shot skyward in the elevator shaft. While he waited to reach street level, he repeated the procedure that was given to him over and over again. "Target in the Center, pull the switch. Target in the center…" Unit 01 reached the surface, and the doors of the building sized elevator opened.

"The AT Field has been deployed." Maya reported from her station.

"Target in the center, pull the switch." Shinji repeated.

"What is he saying?" Roy said in a whisper to Armstrong.

"He's repeating the training instructions that were given to him." Armstrong whispered back.

"That doesn't sound good. What if…" Roy began.

"Do it just as planned, okay, Shinji?" Misato said through the com-link.

"Right." Shinji replied. Shinji moved Unit 01 and fired at the Angel with everything he got. Smoke covered the Angel who stood up with his tentacles waving.

"You idiot! You hit the enemy with your own smoke!" Misato frantically yelled.

'_Uh oh.' _Roy and Armstrong thought at the same time.

The gunfire died down. Shinji was breathing hard. All that can be seen was smoke. Suddenly, through that very smoke, the Angel's tentacle sliced up Unit 01's gun and a nearby building. Unit 01 had to drop back in order not to be hit.

"Ah!" Shinji yelled as the Eva fell back to the ground.

Misato gritted her teeth. "I'm sending you a spare rifle!" Outside, a massive building sized elevator opened, exposing the gun. "Take it!"

Shinji was shaking in fear.

Armstrong lowered his head. _'Not a fighter.'_

"Shinji? Hey Shinji!" Misato yelled.

On Top of the Hill

Touji and Kensuke watched as Unit 01 dropped back. Kensuke was videotaping the whole thing.

"Jeez…being beaten up must have really messed him up." Kensuke said offhandedly.

Touji was scared with what he saw. Kensuke's comments did not help matters either. "Shut up!"

"Hey you two! Get back into the shelter!" Ed replied through breaths as he slowed his sprinting up the stairs to a near crawl. He was breathing hard as he reached the top of the stairs.

Touji and Kensuke swung around to see Ed.

"Ahhhhh!" Touji screamed. "It's the mid…I mean, the robotic arm kid!"

Ed glared at Touji. Fighting an urge to just leave him there, he grabbed the two with a strong grip.

"Ow!" They both said as Ed grabbed them.

"Look, it's dangerous for you two to be out here. If you come with me…" Ed looked up to see the fighting going on.

Unit 01 was frantically running away from the Angel. The Angel's tentacles were slicing up buildings nearby as Unit 01 ran away from the attack. Ran away like…

Ed lowered his head. "I knew it. He should've never piloted that thing."

Ed's hold on their arms started to loosen. Touji and Kensuke looked at Ed with awe.

"Robotic arm kid?" Touji said.

Suddenly, the Angel grabbed Unit 01 and tossed him aside. As the three looked up, they could see that the Angel was flying.

Flying straight towards them.

"It's coming straight at us!" Kensuke yelled as he pointed the camera at it.

Ed, Touji, and Kensuke's eyes widened as they saw Unit 01 coming at them. All three screamed. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Ed stopped his screaming for a second knowing that screaming won't save them. _'Shit. Think fast Ed! Oh we're all be crushed.' _Ed panicked thoughts as he instantly clasped his hand and placed them on the ground.

**BOOM! **The ground rumbled as Unit 01 crashed to the ground. A completely terrified Shinji was shaken around inside the plug. He woke up with the frantic yells of Misato asking about his status. As he looked down the cockpit, he could sees three people a ways off from where his hand was. His eyes widened as he saw who they were. If Ed wasn't there, the only way they could have survived would be if they miraculously survived by being in between the fingers. But since he was there, the only thing Shinji thought that had saved them was alchemy.

Ed used the ground under him as a kind of conveyer belt. With the help of alchemy, they all sank a few feet into the ground, and with a little molecular movement, moved them all away from the Evangelion.

Touji and Kensuke were shaking in fear. Kensuke was the first to look at what happened to them. "How, how did that robotic arm kid do that?!"

NERV Headquarters – Command Center

"Shinji's classmates? And Ensign Elric?!" Misato yelled.

"What are they doing there?" Ritsuko went up to the computer and pressed the speakerphone option of Unit 01. "Ensign Elric, what are you doing with those civilians?!"

Through the monitoring screen, they could see both Touji and Kensuke look at Ed, whose pony tale was blowing in the wind at the time, tough and strong looking.

'_So he did work for NERV.' _Kensuke thought while still very frightened of the situation.

Ed stood up instantly. "Sorry ma'am. But while I was in the shelter, these two bozos decided that they wanted to see the action! I came to get them out of the way and back to the shelter."

"Good thinking Ensign. Do it!" Ritusko yelled. "And tell those bozos that they have something coming after this!"

Touji and Kensuke shivered in fear even more.

Suddenly, the Angel was flying above them.

Shinji saw this and instantly grabbed the tentacles.

The still shaken Touji and Kensuke stared at the scene.

'Why isn't he fighting?" Touji yelled.

"Because of you two idiots! Now, let's go!" Ed yelled as he grabbed the two.

'Shit!' Misato gritted her teeth. "There's no time! Shinji! Let them into the cockpit! Once you got them, make a temporary retreat. We'll start again later!"

Ed stopped as he looked at Unit 01 as it was struggling with the Angel.

"You hear that Edward?" Misato yelled.

"Belay that order Ensign and continue to get the civilians to safety!" Ritsuko yelled back.

"There is no time!" Misato yelled back. "Wait for Shinji to open the plug and get them in!"

Ed was confused about who he should follow. He looked back down the hill to the shelter, and then backs to Unit 01 wrestling with the Angel. He decided he'd take his chances up here. "Yes Captain."

Ritsuko anger boiled. "Edward Elric! You're supposed to…"

Misato took speakerphone off. "Do you have your orders Shinji?"

Shinji watched in awe as he looked at Ed. While his friends were shaking with fear, Ed seemed to be completely composed, and brave. Of course, Ed was still scared, he just did not let it affect him at the moment. _'Why…why can't I be like him?!'_

Ritsuko was mad at Misato's order. "Ensign Elric had the situation under control! Besides, since when do you think unauthorized civilians can be allowed into the entry plug?!" Ritsuko yelled at the top of her lungs.

Misato glared at Ritusko. "There was no time Ritsuko! And I'm authorizing it!"

"Bullshit Captain Katsuragi!" Ritsuko yelled back. "You're exceeding your authority!"

"Three minutes remaining." Maya said through the commotion.

Roy and Armstrong simply watched the two fight it over with themselves. Neither one dared to interfere. One thing they both knew was not to get in the middle of two superiors fighting. This however, simply left them to their thoughts.

'_It wasn't smart sending someone out who doesn't have the spirit to fight.'_ Armstrong thought.

'_I hope things turn out well in the end. Because from our position, it isn't pretty.' _Roy thought.

Misato glared back at Ritsuko. She didn't respond to her and simply looked back at Shinji. "Hold Eva on your current commands and eject the entry plug. Hurry up!"

Shinji complied and ejected the entry plug.

Misato turned the speakerphone option back on. "Edward Elric! Get you, and those two into the entry plug. NOW!"

Eva Unit 01 Cockpit

"What is this? It's water!" Kensuke replied.

'It's breathable, it's breathable, it's…' Ed, after reflexively holding his breath, took a big gulp of the LCL. After a strange feeling of breathing liquid instead of air, he started to calm down as his system got the needed oxygen from it.

"My camera!" Kensuke yelled as his camera was now in something wet.

"Oh would you forget about that for a moment!" Ed yelled at him. "Nerv probably won't allow you to keep it anyways!"

Kensuke frowned as he just realized that. _'Damn! We really shouldn't have…' _Then he looked at Shinji in the cockpit as everything around them lit up.

Touji and Ed did the same as they see the Angel over them.

Shinji appeared to be struggled to keep the Angel from hitting him. The tentacles seemed to have an energy field around it, an energy field that was melting the armor around the Unit 01's hands.

Ed could see a countdown number next to him. 'The doctor said that without a continuous power supply, the Eva would run on its own internal battery. That battery has only five minutes of power. _'We got to get out of there before those five minutes are up! And from the looks of it, we have less then two and half minutes left!'_

"Abnormal conditions occurring in the nervous system." Maya report was heard through the com-link.

'_Our presence must be affecting Shinji's ability to 'link up' with the Eva.' _Ed thought.

"Of course." Ritusko replied peeved. "It's because YOU allow three foreign bodies into the matrix!" Obviously indicating to Misato. "They're being detected as noise in the nerve impulse systems!"

Shinji continued to hold on to the Angel with Unit 01. Suddenly, first, moving his arms up, and then down, and letting go, the floating Angel was sent down the mountain and away from him.

Misato saw this as an opportunity. "Retreat! NOW! Utilize recovery route 34, retreat to the east side of the mountain."

Ed got up next to Shinji. "You heard the Captain! Get us out of here Shinji!"

Shinji looked up at Ed. His face showed of only determination. He was the definition of courage. Something Shinji did not have. 'Why? He's as old as me, yet, he isn't afraid like me!' Shinji closed his eyes. 'I mustn't run away! I must be like Edward!' Shinji pushed a button.

"Progressive knife has been engaged!" Aoba reported.

Misato frowned. "Obey my order Shinji! You've got to retreat!"

Ed looked at Shinji. "Shinji, what are you doing?"

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away. I MUSTN'T RUN AWAY!" Shinji yelled as he sent Unit 01 hurling towards the Angel. The Angel rammed a few of its tentacles into it, but that didn't stop Shinji's attack.

"Idiot!" Misato said to herself as the computer next to her read one-minute.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Shinji yelled as he rammed the progressive knife into the Angel's core.

The core, reminding Ed of a round Philosopher's Stone somehow, started to spew some sort of energy from the wound Shinji inflicted upon it. Ed watched in awe as the kid he saw who was completely shaken, now attacking the Angel with everything he got.

Maya read down the countdown. The systems started to go black as the power started to fail. "3…2…1…" Maya's voice fades as all power in Unit 01 goes out.

Shinji was holding onto the controllers. He was shaking and started to cry.

Ed, Touji, and Kensuke stared at Shinji.

Ed went up to Shinji. "It's okay Shinji. You did good."

NERV Headquarters – Command Center

"I'll be damned." Armstrong spoke up. "Shinji actually did it."

"Yeah." Roy replied. "However, he disobeyed orders. He may have defeated the objective, but he sill disobeyed a direct order from the Captain."

Misato lowered her head. "That's right Second Lieutenant. There won't be any kind words when he comes back."

-Three Days Later…

District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School Class 2-A

It was raining outside. The injured Rei Ayanami looked outside the window. A few people chatted amongst themselves in the mostly empty room. Kensuke was at his computer typing down something. Touji was sitting at his desk with his head down. Ed was contemplating the events of the last three days.

Ed looked back at Rei. 'I wonder if she's worried about Shinji as I am. She seems so quiet back there.' Of all this time that he has spent at NERV and at school, he could barely get a word out of Rei. She seemed to just ignore him.

"It's been three days." Touji said as he thought about the missing student. Touji had his head down on the desk.

"You mean, since we were chewed out?" Kensuke offhandedly commented.

"No!" Touji then looked at Ed who also had his head down. "Though he didn't get chewed out like either of us."

"Well, he did work for Nerv." Kensuke replied offhandedly. "And while he wasn't yelled at, that fake blond woman sure wasn't happy either…"

"Yeah." Touji commented a little more excited. "But that's not what I meant! I mean…" Touji calmed down a bit and continued in his morass tone. "It's been three days since he stopped coming to school."

"Who's he?" Kensuke replied.

Touji got up from his chair. "The new kid! Of course." He then looked away. "I wonder what he's been doing?"

"Probably being detained since he disobeyed orders." Ed said on the side.

Touji and Kensuke looked over to Ed.

"Do you know where he's been robotic arm kid?" Touji asked a little worried.

Ed eyed Touji. "First, my name is Edward. Second, the 'new' kid is Shinji Ikari. As for where he is…" Ed looked away. "I don't know. They won't tell me anything."

Touji dropped his head. "I see."

Ed eyed Touji again. "Why? Are you worried now given what you did?"

"Um well…" Touji looked down. "No, not exactly."

"Touji, for someone who's so tactless, you're pretty stubborn." Kensuke said. "If you had apologized to him back then, you wouldn't be agonizing over it for three days."

Ed glared at Touji. "I think he needs more then just an apology. You saw how he was like." He took out a piece of paper. "But apologizing to him would be a start. Here, if you're so worried about it, you can just call him."

Touji looked at the paper in front of him. "Uh…"

"I'm not sure if you can get through." Ed frowned. "He hasn't been answering my calls. But you can at least try."

Touji nodded. "Okay…" Touji left the classroom to make the call.

Ed sighed. "Shinji, where are you?"

-Two Days later…

Elrics and Armstrong's Apartments

"So, do you know where Shinji is?" Al worriedly asked.

Ed shook his head. "The doctor said that Unit 01 is now repaired and is ready for Shinji to pilot it. But he hasn't shown up for the last five days."

Armstrong sat down at the couch next to Al. "Given his performance, I wouldn't be surprised if he had second thoughts about piloting it again."

"Yeah." Ed sighed. "He was never…" Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Ed turned to the source of the sound. "I'll get it!" He walked up to it and opened the door. He frowned when he saw who it was. "What do you two want?"

"Um…" Touji and Kensuke were a little startled.

Then, Kensuke composed himself and answered Ed. "We're wondering if you could take us to see the new kid, um…Shinji Ikari, Edward."

"Couldn't you have done it yourself?" Ed asked as he looked at the two.

"Well…" Touji looked away a bit. "We could but, you know, given what I did to him…"

Ed sighed. "I understand. Besides, I wanted to find out how he's doing as well."

-Later…

Misato's Apartment

It was another rainy day. The three boys, Touji, Kensuke, and Ed were standing in front of Misato's Apartment. Touji was the one ringing the doorbell.

Suddenly, the door opened at that moment. "Shinji!" Misato asked with a worried expression.

Touji, Kensuke, and Ed were all startled by Misato's sudden appearance.

Misato looked at the three slightly confused. "Huh?"

Ed was the first to speak. "Sorry to bother you Captian. But…"

However, Kensuke cut him off. "We're Shinji's classmates. Aida and Suzuhara!"

"Aida and Suzuhara?" Misato repeated.

"Ye…" Kensuke started but was cut off.

"Yes ma'am!" Touji composed himself. "I'm Suzuhara." He said with a bit of suave.

Kensuke eyed Touji with a slight annoyance.

"Oh, you're the boys that got into Unit 01's entry plug." Misato replied as she recognized the two, she already knew Edward.

"Yes ma'am." Touji and Kensuke replied. Touji bowed down.

Touji then looked up and spoke, not letting either Kensuke or Edward to get in edgewise. "We're really sorry for causing so much trouble. The reason we came here today was that Ikari's has been absent since then."

Ed eyed Touji as well. _'Hello! We're here for Shinji! Not the Captain!' _Ed then turned to Misato. "Captain, we're just concerned about Shinji."

"Shinji?" Misato blinked. "Oh! He's at Nerv training facility right now."

"Oh, I see!" Touji and Kensuke replied at the same time.

Ed however, was not buying it. _'I was just there this morning and I didn't see Shinji.'_

Kensuke took out a stack of papers from his bag. "These are the printouts that were building up on Shinji's desk."

"Oh…" Misato took the papers from Kensuke's hand. "Sorry for your trouble! Thank you!"

"Well, we'll be leaving right now." Touji said.

"Please say hi to Shinji for us!" Kensuke followed.

"Yeah, I will." Misato smiled. "Oh, and Edward, I need to speak with you for a moment. It concerns, ummm…a future experiment that we'd like to run at Nerv!" Misato grabbed Ed and pulled him in.

"Huh?" Ed blinked in complete shock. "What the…"

Touji and Kensuke's eyes widened as they watched Misato grab Edward. Their mouths were wide open as well.

Once Ed was inside her apartment, Misato turned back to the two boys. "Bye!" She waved at them and closed the door.

Touji and Kensuke were left stunned.

"This is an unexpected development." Kensuke finally said.

"She's a babe!" Touji commented. He then frowned as he remembered what happened. "And she took that short kid in! Lucky bastard."

Kensuke sighed. "Yeah. But remember, he works at Nerv! Not to mention the fact that he's a little 'attached' to the Class Rep. We shouldn't be too worried."

"Yeah. I guess." Touji replied uncertain. "That better be the case! Or I'll…"

"Get beat up with his robotic arm?" Kensuke grinned.

Touji frowned. "Oh shut up!"

Inside Misato's Apartment

"So, he ran away." Ed frowned as he sat down. "I'm not surprised."

Misato frowned. "Yeah." Her scowl deepened. "Idiot!" She kicked the door with her bare foot.

Ed sighed. He couldn't blame Misato's concern. But at the same time, a part of him thought that this might be the best for Shinji. "Maybe it's for the best."

Misato lowered her head. "Maybe."

Ed looked out the window. It was raining hard. "I just hope he's okay."

* * *

-------End of Chapter 7

Woohoo! Another chapter in the can! Well, I promised to get to Episode 4 here, and I did it! And the chapter was shorter then I expected (I expected at least 7000 excluding AN. Got WAY below that number!). Given that I didn't feel like getting too deep into the Episode 4 timeline with this one, you anti-long chapter fans are in luck. For you long chapter fans, ummm…hopefully the next one will be longer.

One thing to note, I said three weeks here to stay consistent with the Evangelion timeline. According to this story's timeline (not the series, but this story), I said a few days. That means I will have to change a few things starting with chapter 3 I think, up to chapter 6. Originally I though the best way to expand the time would be when they arrive at NERV, and expand their stay here. But upon further thinking, the better idea would to expand it when they get the apartments. Although in both cases, I have painted myself into a corner concerning the events…

Sound of roller blades come behind me.

I said I painted myself into a corner. I didn't say I was paranoid or that I can't escape from it.

"Awwwwwwww!" Lil Slugger from Paranoia Agent turns around and skates away.

However, as these 'rewrites' and proofing are showing, it should not be consistent with the rest of the story. However, it is still a 'slow' process, and I won't catch up until much later.

Also, if Ed seemed like the 'Larry Sue' of this chapter, I apologize. Not my intention. Right now, he seemed to be the one where everyone turns to for help. Hopefully, I can get away from that to make him, less perfect (besides the fact that he goes crazy when he hears him being called short).

Next Chapter…Shinji ran away! What will this do to the FMA group? And other madness might happen during this time? Until then…later!


	8. Runaway! Run Run Run Runaway!

-Chapter 8 of my FMA/Eva story!

-Been a while since I have updated this story hasn't it? Well, actually, this was the amount of time I had expected to update, especially given the many other stories I'm working on (and yes, also because of the length of the chapters). Just that, when I started this story, I had an extreme spurt of inspiration that enabled me to update very fast early on. And IMO, still have some of that inspiration left. Just that, well, I REALLY needed to update my other stories.

-First, let me thank all my reviewers, even the ones that don't review through FFN (at least, at first). This is, I believe, my ONLY story where a few readers have done that. It shows that, this story is probably my MOST popular NON-Teen Titan story to date (and given the hits I have been getting for my Teen Titan stories recently, I could very soon say that this WILL be my most popular story to date, period). A big thank you to you all!

-Now to address a few things, first, I don't mind nitpicking. Heck, if you read my notes about things like the car, and the cameras, I changed a few things around for nitpicking purposes. Now, the armor piercing ammo thing, when I wrote that, I was thinking along the lines of Al's armor, especially with the weapons that they had in that one episode, which were machine guns that I assumed the FMA group thought were similar to the ones NERV was using. However, you are more right though (heck, if you want to be really technical, even a simple bow and arrow could pierce certain armor plating), I'm just telling you want I was thinking at the time. I might go back in change it to be more accurate. I of course, have to change something a little more important that I will discuss next.

-And yes, this story is based off more of the anime then the manga. Even so, that does NOT mean that I am completely following the FMA anime either. For example, right after Ed had his run in at the underground lab, and his fight with Al over his humanity, Winry was there. When they decided to leave in search of something, Winry went with them since one of the towns that they were passing was a big automail place. Shortly after that, Maes dies. Given that this story takes place after the lab incident, with Maes is still alive AND Winry not with them, I'm not exactly following the anime exactly either.

-As of the time of writing this chapter, there is still a glaring continuity error in this story. Reason of course, I, being super lazy as I am, have not changed the time the FMA group stayed in the first few chapters pre-Chapter 7. Don't worry, 'eventually' I will go back and change it! Just…not right now (whistling). Once I do change it, this AN would be redundant and will be removed. But not right now.

-As for when Winry will appear in the Eva world…probably after Asuka appears. Which, at the current rate, will be around Chapter 14 or 15. I guess I should stop mentioning her, for the moment given I still have a ways to go. In the meantime, you will see her in the FMA world from time to time. Going to be some interesting fireworks when she comes on board!

-As for Roy being a little OOC? Yes and no. Yes, I'm not perfect so OOC is possible. No, from what I could gather, under his tough guy exterior, there's a not so serious side to him (remember why he wanted to be Fuhrer in the anime, so that all the women officers would wear skirts? Not exactly serious is it? Though the manga had it as an Omake, making the non-Omake Roy more serious…but again, this story is based on the anime which included that part with the rest of the story). Also, unlike the anime, he is no longer the 'top' guy either (I know Fuhrer Bradley, and other officers are above him, and does need to answer to them from time to time. However, for the most part, he could do pretty much anything he wanted. Not the case with his lower status and Ritsuko as his superior).

-Now to address the non-FFN review that I just got, I already mentioned about Winry so for you next question, well, the reason why Edward could use Alchemy without assistance was due to him (and this major spoiler…but I already spoiled it to you in this story…hehehe) seeing 'true knowledge'. Since I have no intention of letting Shinji know that (at least early on), the answer is probably no. Touji? Too far ahead for me right now so I can't say (I'm still trying to get to Asuka and figure out how her introduction will be handled). Kensuke? Probably not…though it would be funny! Kaworu, again, it is too far ahead for me to know. But I'm certain the characters using Alchemy will affect him in some way. SEELE? You're going to find out soon. Obviously, they definitely have an opinion on the matter. Sequel? It is a little too far ahead again, but since I plan to go up to Third Impact, probably not. Unless, something happened that would warrant a sequel, but we're talking 40 or so chapters at the current pace I'm going (I might speed it up in some areas, but when I'm now on 8, well…). And of course, if you're reading this, then I have updated. ;-)

-Curse of the long AN, and this one was the longest (I don't seem to have a problem with this for my other stories)! Well, now that I got all that out of the way, on with the story!

NERV Headquarters

Armstrong and Roy were going over the video of the Angel attack. They were stunned when it occurred, and they still were after seeing the video of it again. The shy, reserved, terrified, and maybe even a little cowardly, boy suddenly turned to what appeared to be a brave, determined fighter, even ignoring a direct order from his superior to retreat for his, Ed, and his classmate's safety.

"So what do you think Armstrong?" Roy asked as the video came to a stop right when the Eva shut down.

"I'm definitely impressed." Armstrong replied in a neutral tone. "Apparently when push comes to shove, Shinji Ikari can muster up the strength to fight back. And I have to say, pretty well given his youth and lack of experience."

"That is true." Roy agreed. "However, it seemed to more of a spur of the moment kind of thing, rather then actual skill involve."

"Still, I do see potential there." Armstrong contended. "And if the world depends on it…"

"Then we should help him on that path." Roy finished.

"Don't worry Shinji!" Armstrong ripped off his shirt exposing his chiseled body. "I'm going to make you a MAN!"

'Not again!' Ritsuko thought. "That might be true but…" Ritsuko entered the room that the two were in. "That might not be possible at the moment."

Roy turned back to Ritsuko. "What do you mean?"

Ritsuko lowered her head a bit and displayed a more sorrowful expression. "Shinji ran away."

Misato's Apartment

Edward and Misato were sitting across from each other at the dining table. Misato told what happened after Shinji attacked and killed the Angel five days ago.

"So, after you basically yelled at him for disobeying your orders…he ran away." Ed said the last part with a little indignation. He glared at Misato. "I assume that's the reason!"

"Hey!" Misato crossed her arms, disliking Ed's attitude. "I am his commanding officer! You being in the military should know that you MUST follow your commanding officer's orders no matter what!"

"Yes…" Ed conceded. "BUT, I CHOOSE to be in the military! I may not like it, but at least I knew that coming in. Shinji on the other hand, was for the most part, FORCED to join." Ed frown deepened. "And it wasn't like he didn't do what he was supposed to do. Yes, he disobeyed your orders, but the Angel is dead right? And the city is safe because of it!"

Misato knew he was right on that point. However, that wasn't the only reason why she scolded Shinji. "Fine, yes, he did kill the Angel. AND, despite my better judgment, I MIGHT have let him off a little easier because of that. However, I didn't scold him just because he disobeyed my orders." Misato's eyes seemed to sadden as she remembered the events that have transpired. "It was his attitude. He seemed to…not really care. At least, about himself and that concerns me."

Ed took in what Misato said. "I see. So you care about how he feels?"

The room descended into silence as Misato wasn't sure how to answer that.

Finally, Ed spoke up. "So, is NERV going to try and bring back Shinji?"

Misato nodded. "At the moment Shinji is still a part of NERV. Whether that status stays or not, depends on what he decides."

"But if he decides that he won't pilot it…"

"Then Rei Ayanami will be our sole pilot for the time being." Misato replied in a low tone. "You know Asuka Langley Sohyru is still in Germany and won't be here for at least another month or so. And as far as I know, the Fourth Child has not been found yet."

Ed sighed. "Looks like he'll have to pilot it."

Misato frowned. "Just because the situation isn't good for us if he decides not to pilot it, it does NOT mean he'll have to do it! I'd rather him NOT pilot it if his attitude is that he couldn't care less about his own life! That is not what a pilot should be no matter how dire our circumstances are!"

Ed opened his mouth, but decided to close it. In a way, he agreed to that notion. Why should Shinji fight to save the world when he seemed to not care about his own life? Something he blamed on Shinji's father, but still he could see what Misato was getting at. However, at the same time, without Shinji, the world wasn't in a good position at the moment. With only two other pilots, one being stuck in a foreign country, if there was another Angel attack soon, then all of their hope rested on a still injured girl. So are qualified pilots really that rare? Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Say Miss Katsuragi, if worse comes to worse, is it possible that you could test me to see if I'm qualified to pilot the Eva?"

Misato looked at Ed and thought about his request. She smiled at him for being so thoughtful. However, she knew that there were obstacles to what Ed was asking. "Well I can ask Ritsuko to see if she can schedule a compatibility test to see if you can even survive activation…"

"Survive?" Ed's eyes widened when he heard that.

Misato nodded. "Remember the whole idea that the Eva, being alive and all, must accept you first before you can pilot it? Well, if it rejects you, it doesn't simply kick you out. No, it's much worse then that!"

Ed gulped. "I guess that's why this Marduk group has such a hard time finding pilots. Well…" Still, he knew that this world counted on him if it came to that. It doesn't do any of them, his brother, Armstrong, Hughes, Riza, and even Roy good if this world dies before they go back home. "I'll still do it! For the sake of this world and Shinji!"

Misato smiled. "Very well! Although I might have to ask for a boaster seat…"

Ed tough determined expression changed into pure detestation as he glared dangerously at Misato.

Misato giggled. "Sheesh! I was just kidding!" Suddenly, her expression turned more serious. "But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. The only reason why I would even consider it at this point is if Shinji does not return. NERV isn't exactly an organization where you can just sign up to be a pilot. Not to mention the fact the Commander has the final say on anything. And this is assuming we can get Ritsuko to approve it AND you survive the first compatibility test."

Ed nodded. "If you do this for me, I promise you I won't let you down." He got up and headed towards the exit. "I'm going home. Keep me informed on Shinji."

"I will." Misato waved as Ed left the apartment, leaving her only to her thoughts.

NERV Headquarters

"And when you get Shinji back, what will you do with him?" Roy said with his arms crossed. He looked at Ritsuko was a serious expression.

Ritsuko shrugged. "If he decides to not pilot it, then all we can do is send him back to Osaka and reconfigure Unit 01 for Rei Ayanami." She rested her head on her fist that was in the air with her elbow on her desk.

Roy nodded. "Can't blame him if he decides to leave. But the last time I've seen Rei Ayanami, she doesn't appear ready to ride a bike. Much less pilot that bio-machine, whatever it is."

Ritsuko sat up and placed her hands up at mid height. "And the Fourth Child hasn't been found and so on and so on. Hey! I knew we're screwed if that happened! But what choice do we have?"

Armstrong crossed his arms. AND he had his jacket on. He seemed to have a determined expression on him. "But we are not going to let that happen are we? We shall make sure Shinji stays at NERV!" Armstrong added with zeal.

Ritsuko sighed. "Why? If he wants to go, we'll let him go."

Armstrong dropped his head losing all of his excitement.

"It's all up to Shinji. And while I won't be happy losing a pilot at this critical junction, I won't force him to do it either!" After Ritsuko says this, she looked around the room as she thought of something. "Say, isn't your friend, what's him name…Maes Hughes good at finding people?"

Roy thought about that for a moment. "Why do you want to know? Aren't NERV's own men enough to find Shinji who I'm assuming is the one you're trying to find?"

Ritsuko innocently smiled. "Yes. But I'm sure they could always use another helping hand! Not to mention, I'm simply trying to see what your friend is capable of! Especially true if he was to have skills that could be useful to us. He may not be an alchemist, but that doesn't mean we still can't use him in some capacity or another. For example, your 'wife' is pretty good with a gun! She could be quite useful for Section 2 here."

Roy winced when Ritsuko used the term 'wife'. After he got past that, he looked at Ritsuko with a little suspicion, but decided that her reasoning was sound. "Very well. Let me think…" Roy put his hand on his chin as if he was thinking. "Well Hughes for the most part prefers desk work. Anything that takes him out of the field is fine by him."

"Hmmm…I see…"

"However, he has come through for us in a few cases." Armstrong added. "Especially concerning criminal cases."

Roy nodded. "He helped catch Berry the Chopper when we needed him. Granted, Fullmetal, Edward Elric, found him first, but he wasn't far behind. Lucky for the shrimp too since he might've become even smaller than he is now."

"And I was sure that he was on to something before we all came to this world." Armstrong nodded.

Roy raised an eyebrow at Armstrong's comments. "On to something? What was he 'on to something'?"

Armstrong's eyes widened after he realized what he said. "Um, just a little something or…something. You do not need to be concerned about it!"

Roy frowned. 'He's definitely hiding something.' "Armstrong, I am your superior, on our world and here. Tell me!"

Armstrong however, was resolute on this one. "I'm sorry Sec…Colonel, but I can't tell you."

Ritsuko frowned at the little conversion they were having. 'This doesn't sound good.' She tried to change the conversation back to what she wanted it to be. "Okay! I'm going to ask Hughes to help us find Shinji. Any objections?"

Armstrong and Roy both turned to Ritsuko. "No ma'am."

"Good!" Ritsuko got up and picked up the phone on her desk. 'From the sounds of it, he found something dirty about their military that he shouldn't have known. Something that Junior, no, Second Lieutenant Armstrong wasn't willing to diverge with even his commanding officer, Colonel Mustang. If he's really as good as he is, I might have to eliminate him if he were to ever start digging into NERV's secrets. But first, let's see how he does with finding Shinji.'

Roy eyed Armstrong. 'What could Hughes have been investigating that I shouldn't know about? And why would Armstrong keep it quiet from me? He was my superior right? Unless…'

Japan Times Newspaper

"Have you seen pictures of my lovely daughter, Miss Asakura?" Hughes eagerly showed off a picture of his wife and daughter to his current co-worker.

The woman reporter Kazumi Asakura looked at the picture with an uncaring stare. "Um, yeah. For the three thousandth time." She glared at Hughes.

"Doesn't she just make you want to hug her?" Hughes was hugging the picture to his chest. "She's so cute!" He then rubbed the picture on his cheek. He then rushed up to the next cubicle to Takamichi Takahata. "Hey you looked a little stressed Mister Takahata! Here, this will help you relieve some stress!"

Takamichi was trying to get some work done. Something he had a hard time doing when the foreigner came to work for them. "Could you go back to your desk Mister Hughes?"

Eishun Konoe, the chief editor of the Japan Times, stared at the scene in front of him as Hughes went from cubicle to cubicle showing off the picture of his daughter. "He's doing it again."

"Are you really going to allow that foreigner to do this everyday?" Chigusa Amagasaki crossed her arms and frowned.

"Why not?" Eishun replied. "Being away from his family is obviously difficult for him. This is his way with dealing with it!"

"Hmph!" Chigusa grunted in disgust. "Why doesn't he just call them if it means that much to him? And if he cares so much for his family, why doesn't he just bring them over here?"

"He does every time he's at home." Eishun replied. "But that still not the same as a face to face contact! As for why he didn't bring him over, he didn't want to put his wife and daughter in a completely foreign country away from their extended family and friends just for his sake. Not to mention the fact that this is supposed to be a temporary for him. It's difficult, but this is the way it has to be." After a short pause, he continued. "They say absence makes the heart grow fonder…"

The phone began to ring on Hughes' desk.

"Hughes!" Eishun called out.

Hughes stopped what he was doing, showing off the picture of his daughter of course, and turned to Eishun. "What's up chief?"

"You have a phone call." Eishun pointed to his desk.

"Oh!" Hughes scratched the back of his head. He was so into his, well, showing off his picture that he didn't notice it. "I'll get it!"

Eishun grinned. "You better." He then turned around and was about to head towards his office when he stopped next to Chigusa. "Besides, he's our best reporter! I was surprised that he wasn't used to using a computer, but other than that, his stories have been top notch! Not to mention the fact that he's the one that NERV turns to at every press meeting."

Chigusa frowned. "Yes, but is that really a good thing? After all, isn't it our duty to question them? Him being friends with NERV is a little…"

"There is another saying." Eishun interrupted Chiguga. His grin widened. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Who says that NERV is our friend?"

Hughes gets to his desk and looked at the phone. It was definitely ringing just like the phones they had back at home (without all the elaborate craftsmanship and fine details that their phones had). As he looked long and hard at it, he also noticed that a light was blinking with the word _Line 2_ next to it. 'Hmm, so like our world, they have different lines. Either for security reasons or for just, well, being able to take more then one call! Since I don't think a journalist would need to be extra secure… Eh whatever…' He picked up the phone and pressed the _Line 2_ button. "Hello! This is Maes Hughes of the Japan Times!" Hughes said in a cheery voice. "How may I help you?"

Gun Range

Riza unloaded another round into the poor target. **POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! **Once her weapon was empty, she then raised her weapon, and pushed the little button next to her that brought the target forward. She smiled as she sees that all of the bullets concentrated in the center of the target.

"You're pretty good with a weapon Mrs. Mustang." A man in dark glasses and a gray suit said next to her. He was leaning against a wall and had his arms crossed.

Riza took off her earmuffs and glared at the man. "First of all, I'm keeping my maiden name. Second of all…"

"Your marriage is a cover." The man took out a badge indicating that he was a part of NERV. "We know."

Riza grinned. "So, you're from Section 2 is it? That's the security section I take it?"

"Uh hem." The man sounded in agreement. "We've been keeping an eye on your skill."

Riza took out the empty clip and put a new full one in. "And what makes you think that I'm going to join Section 2?" She cocked her gun.

"Who said I was offering you a job?" The man replied in a harsh tone. "And suppose that I am, are you perfectly fine just sitting in your apartment watching television all day?"

Riza replaced the paper target with a new one. "That's not the only thing I do. But to answer your question, no. Although I have to admit, I'm really into those soap operas and daytime talk shows. They're quite well made!" 'And if I can ever get that TiVo to work, I will never miss an episode of _As the Days Turn_ ever again!' She pushed a button that sent the target back to the wall. "Although what makes you think that I won't decide to join the local police force?"

"If you want, we could arrange that. Although I'm not sure you're going to like it there." The man grinned. "We'll keep in touch." The man turned and left.

"I'm certain you will." Riza raised her gun and fired at the target.

-Later…

NERV Headquarters

"So you want me to find Shinji for you guys." Hughes grinned. "None of your men are good enough?"

"It isn't that none of our men are good enough. I'm certain we could find him as well." Ritsuko crossed her arms. "However, I see no reason why we shouldn't have outside help! And if you could find him faster than our men, fine by us!"

"Somehow, I don't think that's your sole purpose. BUT, with the fate of the world at stake, I'll be glad to help!" Hughes said in a cheery voice. "Now, where should I start?"

Ritsuko brought out a map and drew some circles. "This is where Misato's apartment was. Misato said that when she woke up this morning at around eight, when she noticed that Shinji was gone." She pointed to the first circle. "The last video we have has Shinji entering the six a.m. train here. Right now, we haven't seen where he has gotten off."

Hughes thought about this for a moment. "Who said that he has gotten off?"

Ritsuko eyed Hughes. "So, you're saying that he didn't get off the train then?"

"From what I understand about Shinji, he doesn't really have any place to go. The closet people he could call friends were Misato and maybe Ed." Hughes leaned against the desk. "Since I doubt he would go back to Misato, and I'm certain he didn't know where Ed lived, I'd say he just stayed on the train, until whenever it was taken out of service." Hughes looked at his watch. "From my understanding, the last train ends at 1 a.m. right? Since it is around 1: 30 now, we find where it stopped, and then we know where Shinji is. At least, the general area if nothing else."

Ritsuko tapped her fingers on her desk. "Possible. Let me check something." Ritsuko picked up the phone and called the Tokyo 3 Mass Transit Authority. She asked when the train that Shinji took was taken out of service, and where the last stop was. She thanked the man and hung up the phone. She got up from her desk and approached the map. "Shinji's train terminated here." She drew a circle on one of the stations. She grinned. "Interesting place to stop. This is the red light district."

Hughes raised an eyebrow. "Red light district?"

Ritsuko nodded. "It's where the strip clubs are. As well as…" Ritsuko watched Hughes blink in confusion. Although she was certain that from where they came from, they did have that (although probably not as prevalent); just to be certain, she clarified what she meant. "It's a business where men go to watch women strip naked."

Hughes was a little stunned at the news he received. "You mean prostitutes? And this is legal?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "They are not prostitutes, BUT, you will find them in the red light district too! And while prostitution is still illegal, and has always been that way, strip clubs are completely legal. Strip clubs are simply places where men see women strip naked. Usually there isn't any actual sex involved, unless that club has a 'special offer' for its customers."

"So, a place where women are put on display for the benefit of men." Hughes rubbed his chin.

"Yes well, that's the red light district for you. It is a place where the morally deprived go. Oh, sometimes you have places where the roles are reversed, and you have women looking at men stripping, but those are not as plentiful. HOWEVER…" Ritsuko emphasized the last part, causing Hughes to turn his attention to her. "Said places are for people aged eighteen and over. If they want to keep their license to operate, they won't allow someone of Shinji's age in."

"And even if they did, I'm not sure if Shinji would have a lot of money to 'pay' for the service, whatever it is." Hughes added. He again looked at his watch. "He must've found a place nearby in that area where he could sleep for the night."

"If you're right…it would definitely limit the places where he would stay in that area." Ritsuko tapped her chin as she looked at the map.

"Well, only one way to find out." Hughes crossed his arm. He wasn't exactly fond of such a place existing, but he knew that even where he came from, there were questionable areas that he preferred to stay out of as well. For the sake the world, he'll just have to take that chance. "I'm going to check out the area myself."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Ritsuko eyed him. "I have to go home and get some sleep for tomorrow so I can't accompany you. And this area, well, it is not exactly a quiet safe area if you know what I mean."

"Hey…" Hughes raised his arm, exposing one of his knives. "I may prefer being behind the desk than on the field, but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself!"

"Very well!" Ritsuko smiled. "Just stay safe!"

-Later…

Red Light District

Since the trains didn't run this late, Hughes had to rely on the help of a Section 2 agent. When he arrived at the red light district, he noted the amount of dirt, drunks, the prostitutes, rift rafts, and the all around sleaze that was all around him. "Doctor Akagi wasn't kidding." He said out loud as he started to walk the streets following the train station. Completely disgusted at what he sees.

"Hey there? Need some fun tonight?" A skanky woman called out behind him.

"Don't you want some of this?" Another skanky woman called out to him in a seductive voice. Well, seductive if she wasn't a…umm… "I can give you a free sample if you would like?"

"Came you spare a few change?" A dirty homeless man said. "I need to get some more booze!"

"Maybe you're into what I have!" A man in leather pants grinned next to him.

"No thanks! I'll just…be on my way! Hehehe." Hughes gave a big smile and waved the girls and guys off before he looked back to the road ahead of him and his expression turned serious again. "I hope Shinji is okay in this part of the town." As he headed up towards the street, he stopped at a theater. He looked at the movies and noted that they weren't adults only either. "Special showing, all night. Hmm." He grinned.

-Daylight…

Shinji took his bag and exited the building. He exited the building without much thought until he noticed a man standing in front of him. As he looked up, he sees a man, wearing glasses, and has stubbles on his chin, staring back at him. He looked vaguely familiar to him.

"Hello Shinji." Hughes said back.

Shinji sighed knowing who he was.

Hughes lowered his head. "Sorry kid but, this is the way it has to be."

Two Section 2 agents came behind him and took Shinji into custody. At that moment, the cicadas sounded.

Hughes turned to the sounds of the bugs. "Man those things are annoying."

Streets of Tokyo 3 – Bench

"So our services are not needed today?" Ed said while leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"The Doctor gave us all a day off given that Shinji ran away." Armstrong replied with his eyes closed. He was wearing a 30s style suit, including a gray vest, and a long jacket. He appeared to be thinking about something. Appeared to be at least. He also had his arms crossed.

"And I don't have school today either." Ed looked back at where their apartment was. "Too bad Al can't really come out. You know, I'm a little worried about him sitting in front of that TV all day."

Armstrong nodded in agreement without opening his eyes. "Recently, he became addicted to this new 'animated' show, what was it called? Naruto? It's amazing what they show on this, television thing."

"Yeah. But what else can he do? Having a massive walking piece of empty armor walking around would attract too much attention." Ed sighed.

Touji then walked by.

Ed looked up and noticed Touji. "Oh hey there!"

Touji was startled when he heard his name. Then he turned and saw that the source of the voice was Ed. "Oh, it's you, Edward Elric right?"

Ed waved back at him without much care. "Yeah. And you must be Touji something. So, where's your friend with the glasses?"

"Kensuke? He's out in the field playing with himself! I mean, not in a nasty way!" Touji answered, a little embarrassed with his use of words.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Not in a nasty way? What do you mean?"

"Um, he's just playing with toy guns and stuff." Touji replied still a little embarrassed.

"Oh!" Ed wasn't sure what the 'nasty way' was, but apparently it had nothing to do with playing with toy guns.

"So, who's the guy next to you?" Touji asked looking at the massive man next to him.

"Oh him?" Ed pointed to Armstrong. "He's my guardian. Arm…"

It was at this point that Armstrong came to life. "Alex Louis Armstrong!" He instantly got up. Lucky for Touji, Armstrong didn't rip off his shirt to show off his massive muscles that he normally would do.

Touji looked up at the massive man. "Whoa!" 'Not only does the shrimp know how to fight, but he has a huge guardian! Lesson number one: NEVER mess with these guys! "Anyways, um, have you heard from Shinji?"

Armstrong sat right back down and returned to his normal position and shook his head.

Ed did the same. "No. When he ra…was detained for disobeying orders, I haven't heard much from him."

"Ah." Touji said. "Well, when you see him again, tell him that we're sorry and…well…just that there's no hard feelings um…"

"I will." Ed waved him off. "You can count on me."

"Okay! You have my number right?" Touji said before he left.

"Yup! See ya later." Ed remained on the bench. After a few minutes, his cell phone rang. He takes it out and looked at the display. The display indicated that it was coming from Misato's cell. 'Did they find Shinji?' He answered the phone. "Ed here."

-Later…

NERV Headquarters

"Hey Ed." Misato said a little gloomily.

"Captain…where's Shinji?" Ed asked as he rushed up to Misato.

Misato frowned. "He's getting ready to leave."

Ed stopped and sighed. "So, he decided to return home right?"

"Home." Misato said in a low voice. "I guess you can say that. He's going back to Osaka. As for the fact that he decided…well…" She looked away.

Ed cocked his head at Misato. "Are you telling me that you made him go back?"

Misato narrowed her eyes. "I didn't do any such thing!" She spat out at Ed before she got a little more control over herself. "It isn't like that. First, remember how I told you about his attitude? He was willing to stay ONLY for our benefit." Misato lowered her eyes. "That is not an attitude that I want to see from a pilot."

Ed slowly nodded after hearing Misato's explanation. "From a pilot, or just Shinji? Never mind, I understand." He looked back out the exit. "Can I at least say goodbye to him?"

Misato nodded. "But you have to hurry. He's leaving on the next train to Osaka in an half an hour." Suddenly, Misato stopped. "Hedgehog dilemma…"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What about that?"

Misato was silent until something in her eyes lit up. "Come on! Let's go!" She ran and grabbed Ed.

-Later…

Train Station

Shinji asked the two Section 2 agents if he could stay and talk to his friends. After Touji made Shinji punch him, he talked to his other friend, Kensuke, where he found out that he also didn't have a mother.

"So I guess this is goodbye then!" Kensuke said to Shinji. He was wearing his 'play' clothing of fake army fatigues that he wore when he was playing in the field.

Touji, sporting a brushed cheek waved at him. "See ya later new kid!"

The Section 2 agents grabbed Shinji and led him up the stairs. Suddenly, Shinji ran down the stairs and yelled at his two 'friends'. "I'm the one that deserves to be hit! I'm mean, cowardly, dishonest, weak, sneaky, and sissy."

Touji and Kensuke were stunned and saddened by Shinji's outburst.

Misato's Car

"Somehow, I don't remember this!" Ed held onto the side of the car's door. "I don't think this is the speed limit is it?" The car screeched as it made a sharp left turn. "Then again, the last time I was in here, I was crammed into the trunk area!"

"Oh shut up!" Misato growled. "Do you want to catch Shinji in time before he leaves? Also, it's called the hatch back area!"

"Yeah whatever! Also, getting there on time is not good when I'm dead!" Ed gulped. He hoped that he would be alive after this was through.

"Hmph!" Misato snorted.

"By the way…" Ed said in a slightly calmer voice. "Why did you want to chase after Shinji?"

Misato eyed Ed. "Because, I think I finally beginning to understand Shinji. And…" She trailed off as the station came into view.

Train Station

Misato's blue car screeched to a halt in front of the train station. The train has not arrived yet so Shinji was left standing at the platform.

Misato instantly opened the door, got out, yelled and waved at Shinji. "SHINJI!"

Ed also got out. "Hey Shinji!" He too, waved.

Kensuke and Touji looked at Misato and Shinji with complete surprise.

"Wow! How did they get here so fast?" Kensuke wondered.

"Miss Misato must be amazing!" Touji said with his eyes glistening.

"I'm home." Shinji said at a lower voice.

Misato thought she heard him say something. "What was that Shinji?"

Shinji looked up at Misato. He repeated what he said in a higher voice. "I'M HOM…"

Suddenly, a train speed right in front of him. Blocking Ed and Misato's view of Shinji.

"AH!" Shinji instinctively raised his arm and took a step back as the train came to a compete stop in front of him.

Ed and Misato both sweat dropped.

Commander Ikari's Office

"So, do you think he is a threat?" Gendo asked with his hands in front of his mouth.

"Well, from what I can gather, he likes to look into places where he shouldn't." Ritsuko noted. "However, as long as he stays a civilian and not meddle in NERV's affair, it shouldn't be a problem."

"It better not be." Gendo replied in a dark tone. "Otherwise, he would have to be taken care of."

"I understand." Ritsuko said in a slightly worried tone. "By the way, have SEELE been told about the alchemists?"

"Not yet." Gendo answered. "They do not need to know about this for the time being. After all, they are not important to the Human Instrumentality Project are they?"

"Not yet. But…" Ritsuko started but was cut off by Gendo.

"When the time comes, they will be informed. That is all." Gendo finished.

-**_Meanwhile, in another Universe…_**

Fuhrer Bradley's Home

Winry looked around the elaborate dining room with the chandeliers hanging above them. She then looked at the massive dining table that was obviously meant to hold more people than just the three people that currently reside here. Four if you include her but, well, she was supposed to only stay there on a temporary basis. The fact that she was there was starting to annoy her. Still, she was in awe of the wealth of this place. Which shouldn't be a real surprise, after all, we're talking about the Fuhrer here! Across from her sat Fuhrer Bradley. Next to him were his wife, and his son, Selim.

"I hope it wasn't too overwhelming for you Miss Rockbell!" Bradley smiled at the girl across from him.

"Oh it's okay! Really!" Winry waved back at him. "It's just a little more then I'm used to!"

"You've been a fine young woman this past few weeks!" Bradley's wife said to Winry. "You're going to make a wonderful wife to someone, I know it!"

Winry blushed at that comment. "You're too kind Mrs. Bradley!"

"Hey mom!" Selim called out to her. "Can me and Winry play in the field after dinner?"

"Selim!" Mrs. Bradley frowned. "It's too dark for you to play at this hour."

"Ahhhh!" Selim pouted.

"Hehehe!" Fuhrer Bradley stroked Selim's head. "You can play with Winry tomorrow!"

Winry smiled though to be honest, she wasn't exactly sure why she's still here. "Um, Fuhrer Bradley, I thank you for the hospitality but…about my request…"

"Oh, don't worry Miss Rockbell, it's going through." Bradley smiled. "It's just that, it has been taking a little longer than expected. I don't want to compromise your safety for one second. It seemed that the grounds are not as stable as they appear and so…"

"Are you talking about the lost town daddy?" Selim asked curious.

"Now now!" Fuhrer Bradley turned to his son. "We shouldn't be discussing this out loud! You know how your mother thinks about it!"

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Bradley replied in a stunned voice. She turned to Winry. "You're not thinking about going to the lost town are you? You shouldn't go since it would just be too heartbreaking!"

"Mrs. Bradley I know." Winry's eyes dropped down. "It's just that, I need to check something."

The door opened and Fuhrer Bradley's assistant came in and informed Fuhrer Bradley something.

Winry looked at the woman and nearly did a double take. 'That woman…she almost looks like…'

"I'm sorry everyone!" Fuhrer Bradley informed everyone as he got up from his chair. "I have some business to attend to." He then turned to his son. "And remember, you're sleeping at nine! NO LATER!"

"Ahhhhh!" Selim sunk in his chair.

Winry looked out the window. 'I hope he's okay…'

-------End of Chapter 8

I know what you're probably thinking, how did Kensuke find out that Shinji was leaving while he was out on the field? Um, intuition? Deus Ex Machina? Well, to be honest, I didn't intend to change this part of the story since I still intend Kensuke and Touji to be his friends so, here he is!

And THAT is the end of Chapter 8. Now, if you notice all of Hughes' co-workers names come from Negima. That's the same series that also inspired (partially) the other Eva stories when I needed extra names. So, I'm a huge fan of Negima right? Not quite. Haven't read the manga or seen the series yet. So, why Negima? Well, I'm a huge fan of Love Hina (though I'm still trying to get all the mangas first) and well, that led me to Negima where I found a website that had all its names (it's Wikipedia). Since I needed some Japanese names to use, I got it from there!

As you can see, this chapter, despite some changes here and there, really didn't deviate from the actual episode (in terms of what Shinji was doing and what he went through). Why? Well, again, I wanted Shinji to be friends with Kensuke and Touji. And that's why Kensuke was there at the train station. As for Shinji's mostly absence, well, did that on purpose since, all the events that he would've been in would be the same as it was in the episode. Maybe a few minor differences like mentioning the FMA group again, but not enough to warrant retread those areas again. This is the same reason why you don't see a lot of Rei very often (remember, this is the regular quiet reserved Rei, NOT evil Rei like my other story).

Now, you get more Winry here! And why she isn't there yet! Again, I plan for her arrival in the Eva world sometime after Asuka. Which again, would be around Chapter 14, or 15 depending on how fast I get there (and if you're lucky, maybe even 12 if I really speed things up).

And one last thing, this chapter is actually about average in terms of word length. Which is a little bit less then 6000 words WITHOUT the excessively long Author's Notes. Pretty good I guess.

Next Chapter…Now the Shinji is back, we see if Shinji can do alchemy. Also, the Eva team checks out the Angel. Will a discovery move the research into the Philosopher's Stone forward? Until next time…later!

Big thanks to X-Over for this proofread. Certainly did better then I will ever do!

SimmyC


	9. The Teacher and the Student

-Chapter 9 of Fullmetal Evangelion!

-First, apologies for getting this chapter up late. One reason why it is late: other stories! Second reason: writers' block. Third, MIDTERMS! I still have one more left as of writing this! Lucky for you guys, I decided to take a break and finish this update now.

-Now, in response to the constructive criticism from Isamu, I agree! I HATE these long AN. But since this story gets so many questions (that I feel I need to be answered here), it usually winds up that way. Okay, maybe I rant too much too, but I am trying to stop that. Still, even then, I usually don't have this problem in my other stories (granted, they get fewer reviews, and in turn, fewer questions, but still not a huge problem there).

-I could of course, save all the AN for the end of the story like some writers who write long AN do. However, that's not stopping long AN, but instead, putting it off till after the update.

-Your second point I also agree since I never said I was a good writer! ;-) Seriously, I AM trying to improve my writing, be more descriptive, etc. Just that, well, it still has a ways to go (if you think these parts are bad, try reading some of my first stories here). Now, the part you mentioned, I can see why you highlighted it. It was just a terrible sentence on my part for many reasons. Sorry. I admittedly rushed that part since the spurt of inspiration was gone as I finished the last chapter. I'm sure there are other parts earlier in that chapter, but again, similar reasoning. I will remedy that later if I go back and redo it (which I promise to do to the earlier chapters as well).

-The Author's Notes inside the actual story, I admit that I should've left at the end for narrative sakes, if I mention it at all (hey! Even I semi-know that you're not really supposed to do that! Semi-know since, if I knew, why did I do it anyways? Hehehe…uh), but again, my thinking was that I figured, people would've wondered why Kensuke was there given that I did change the events around. Still, if I mentioned it at all, I should've done it at the end.

-Short AN for once? Well, short for this story's standards at least? Awesome! Sorry if you don't like these even at this length, but at least it's shorter! On with the story!

* * *

NERV Headquarters – Office Next to Training Room

Ed sat back at a chair as he waited for Armstrong to be done with Shinji. He wasn't sure what he would do to him; he just hoped that it wasn't anything, traumatic for the young boy. Granted, Ed was no older than Shinji. At most, Shinji was a year younger than he was. Still, unlike Shinji, at least Ed was used to being the 'military's dog'. While he wasn't sure what the official status of NERV really was, they still expect someone, like Shinji, to follow orders even if their life was on the line. And from looking at these 'Angels' (which is what they call them) someone like Shinji would be in constant danger.

Roy walked in and noticed Ed casually sitting back in his chair and frowned. Oh how he would just love to tell the little runt off for being so laid back when he was supposed to be on duty. Then again, Roy had to admit, he would be doing the exact same thing at this moment if he were in his shoes. It wasn't like Roy had a lot to do here, even with Shinji back. Not to mention his lowered status here at NERV. _'Well, at least my superior is prettier to look at.'_ Roy thought with a smile.

"So, are you just going to stand there and do nothing, Second Lieutenant?" Ed said with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.

Roy crossed his arm. A slight, almost playful smile appeared on his face. "We've been through this before Ensign Fullmetal. I can easily point out that you are just sitting there doing nothing."

Ed opened one eye to stare at Roy, and then closed it again. "Well, it isn't like I have anything better to do. The Doctor didn't give me any assignments other than teach Shinji alchemy. Once Armstrong is done with him of course."

Roy sat down at a nearby chair. "Same here." He leaned back in the chair. "I'm supposed to teach Shinji alchemy as well. Of course…" He grinned. "I'm going to leave all the basic stuff to you."

Ed eyed Roy with indignation for a second, before returning back to his lazy pose of indifference. "Yeah whatever."

Roy smiled before his face turned serious again. "I wonder how Shinji is faring in there."

"Who knows?" Edward shrugged. "I'm not in there so I can't say if he will be okay with the giant or not."

Roy eyed Edward. "Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"

"Yeah well, friend or not, it isn't like I need to keep tabs on him all the time." Edward said without changing tone or position.

Roy chuckled. "Some friend you are."

Ed opened his eyes and glared at Roy.

At that moment, the door slammed opened revealing a terrified Shinji. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Roy's and Ed's eyes widened as they both turned to the screaming Shinji.

"Get me away from that madman!" Shinji sprinted down the hall.

Roy and Ed then turned back to the doorway and saw a shirtless Armstrong with sparkles all around him. "Come back here Shinji! Your training has only begun!" Armstrong started sprinting after Shinji. Well, more like…skipping like a little girl.

Roy and Ed followed Armstrong with their heads, eyes still wide with shock. Once Armstrong was out of the hallway, both of them turned to each other.

"Um, what exactly did he do in there?" Roy said, breaking the silence.

Ed blinked a few times before answering. "Do we really want to know?"

NERV Headquarters - Observation Deck above Training Room

"Well, I guess that didn't go too well." Ritsuko sighed. Ritsuko closed up her clipboard.

"What did you expect?" Misato spoke up next to her. "I told you, letting the giant teach him alchemy wasn't a very good idea. If anyone should've taught him, at least the basics, it should've been Ensign Elric or Second Lieutenant Mustang!"

"Yeah well…Armstrong did volunteer first." Ritsuko noted. "Although he was a little too enthusiastic now that I think about it…but again, he volunteered to be the first one to teach him." Ritsuko then rubbed her chin. "I mean, if he had succeeded teaching him his form of alchemy, imagine what it could mean if it could be used in the Evas?"

"True." Misato conceded that point. "But, I'm not sure the UN or Japan's Interior Minister of Affairs would look too kindly to us if Unit 01 decided to turn a building into a massive projectile weapon, and hurl it towards an Angel."

"Of course," Ritsuko said in voice of indifference. "It isn't like I expected anything less from them otherwise. Still, it would've been better if we had that option than not!" She then turned her head towards the door where she knew the two other alchemists were at. "And you have to admit, it would be better than causing a massive inferno in the middle of Tokyo 3."

"Not to mention the scientific complications we would encounter." Misato took out her note pad. "Just the amount of oxygen required to feed such a massive fire that would even damage an Angel is staggering to say the least! And this is all assuming that the Angel's AT Field is down at the time!"

"That is also true again." Ritsuko concurred as she too, seen the numbers. "It's obvious that just any alchemy won't do. While it is a science we still don't quite understand, it is still a science nonetheless and in turn, we cannot break the rules associated with them." She then turned to Misato with a slightly serious expression. "But even you have to be excited of the possibilities if the pilots are able to pass alchemy down to their Evas."

Misato then looked back into the room as her eyes cast down in thought. "I don't know. I was at first but…sometimes I wonder if a simple good old fashion butt kicking is in order! Just a fist and a gun! No alchemy!"

Ritsuko nodded. "Worse comes to worse, that will be the M.O. we will be working on." She then turned her attention back into the now empty room. "Still, having more options at your disposal is always a plus! Fighting the Angels won't get any easier from here on out."

-Later…

NERV Headquarters – Training Room

"What was with that man?" Shinji asked as he sat at the bench that was bordering a windowless wall. "I mean…he seems nice and all but…then he took off his jacket…"

Edward chuckled. "Well, that's Armstrong for ya! Oh, and don't be TOO scared about that jacket ripping off thing. He does that to everyone!"

Shinji took a deep breath. "Okay! But still…that was a little weird…"

"Believe me, you're not the only one who believes that!" Ed smiled. "But otherwise, he's a pretty harmless guy! Big muscles and all!"

"I guess…" Shinji said still unsure of himself. "But I think he's still scary!"

"I thought so too!" Edward said as he remembered his first meeting with Armstrong. "But once you get to know him, he isn't that bad. Most of the time!" Edward smiled as he said the last bit in order to give Shinji some assurance. After a moment though, his face turned serious. "As much as I like to chit chat about this, that isn't my job at the moment."

"Alchemy," Shinji said knowing full well why Edward was here. "I don't know…as far as I know, it looks like magic to me. And that big guy wasn't much help in teaching me otherwise."

"I figured as much." Ed said out loud as he remembered Shinji being chased by the giant. "I guess he didn't tell you much about it did he?"

Shinji shook his head. "Once he started flexing his muscles…" He then looked off into the corner of the room as he remembered an odd situation. "And sparkles appeared around his body, I was out of there pretty fast!"

"I guess he won't be teaching Alchemy for a while…" Ed commented with amusement. He returned his attention to Shinji. "I guess the easiest way to do this is to start you with the basics. Number one, while it may look like magic…it isn't."

"I got that much from that big guy's rambling." Shinji nodded. "Other than him saying something about the grace and beauty of Alchemy. He mentioned something about, in order to make something; you have to give something in return? Equivalent exchange right?"

Ed nodded. "Yup!"

"But how do you get from there…to actually…you know…making something?" Shinji asked with confusion. "I mean, when I see you do it, you like, draw a circle and…boom! You turn a rock into a statue!"

Ed rubbed his chin. "I'll get there! Though, before we get to that stage, I'll tell you something that my teacher told me before she taught me alchemy. All is one, and one is all!"

Shinji looked at Edward with confusing. "All is one, and one is all?"

Edward nodded. "I had to learn the meaning before we could become her students."

"We? Oh, you mean you and your brother?" Shinji assumed.

"Yup!" Edward confirmed before he continued his story. "Though we had to come up with the meaning ourselves!" Ed then frowned as he remembered the situation they were put in because of it. "It wasn't exactly a great experience, and I will save you that much."

"Really?" Shinji raised an eyebrow. "What did she do to you two?"

Ed's scowl deepened. "She placed us on an island to basically fend for ourselves for a month! By the end of that month, we were supposed to know the meaning."

"An island alone?" Shinji's eyes widened.

"Not just that…but we were like eight at the time!" Ed sighed. "Oh, and there was this guy there who just kept beating us up!"

Shinji blinked in wonder, and…a little fear.

Ed noticed this, smiled, and shook his head. "Hehehe. Don't worry! I will definitely not put you through that to know the meaning of what I said. But I have to admit, whoever that guy was, and the struggle we went through on that island, it did make us understand just exactly what teacher wanted us to see."

"And that was…" Shinji asked as he saw that Ed was now lost in thought.

"Huh? Oh yeah…" Ed scratched the back of his head with a little abashment. "The meaning of that phrase, well, to put it simply, that we are just one part of the world!"

"One part of the world?" Shinji said still confused.

"Yeah!" Ed smiled as he continued. "You see, let's say we die…what would happen?"

Shinji blinked at the unusual question. "Um, people would be sad?"

"Only to the people we would know." Ed noted. "But for the general society, our deaths would be fairly insignificant."

"That's true…" Shinji conceded. 'In my case, I'm not sure how many people would care.' "But what about a big rock star or something?"

"Rock star?" Ed raised an eyebrow.

Shinji looked up as if he was thinking how he should put this. "Um, you know…someone famous…"

"Oh! Well…that's not the point!" Ed gave a funny smile. "But even then, after a few weeks, people will go back to their daily lives as if nothing happened. What I'm trying to get at is, if we look at this on a scientific standpoint, our bodies are composed of hundreds of compounds."

"Yeah…" Shinji raised an eyebrow. He still wasn't getting what Ed was going for. "We have things like calcium and stuff but…"

"When we die, those compounds are broken down by bacteria." Ed continued. "And we become nutrients to plants right?"

"Ehm." Shinji nodded.

"But those plants are then eaten by vegetarian animals." Ed said as he watched Shinji started to put the pieces together.

"And then those animals are eaten by meat-eating animals." Shinji added.

"And these animals will take those compounds into who knows where!" Ed crossed his arms as he looked up into the sky. "And then those animals die…"

"And the cycle is repeated all over again!" Shinji finished with a smile. Still, he wasn't sure how this added to the phrase. "But what does it have to do with that phrase, and what does it have to do with Alchemy?"

"Because the world is constantly being destroyed, and constantly being rebuilt!" Ed grinned as he eyed Shinji again. "If you pull this back to include the universe, the universe is made with all the parts coming together! We are living due to the countless rules of the universe! Destroying, death, and rebuilding, life!"

Shinji's eyes lit up. "The all is the world, while the one is…me!"

"Exactly!" Ed smiled, as his 'student' understood what he wanted to hear. "And the number one rule of Alchemy is…"

"In order to get something, you have to give something of equal value!" Shinji replied.

"See? You get it!" Ed smiled. Suddenly, realization hit him and his smile disappeared in an instant. "Wait a second…if you could get it, then why the heck did I spend thirty days on that stupid island?" Ed's eyes narrowed.

Shinji backed up on the bench due to Ed's sudden outburst. "Um, eh…I don't know! Maybe…maybe she wanted you to have first hand experience because of it?"

Ed growled at Shinji's answer. Suddenly he imagined Izumi over him. 'That's right shrimp!' Izumi said in his head and then promptly bashed Ed on the head with her fist.

Ed then instantly got up. "I'm not a shrimp granny!"

To Shinji though, all he saw was Ed crashing to the ground, and then getting back up and yelling at, apparently a cabinet. A sweat drop appeared on his face. "Um, Mister Edward…are you alright?"

Ed blinked after hearing Shinji's voice. He slowly turned his head to Shinji. "Um, yeah! Just…well…ANYWAYS, let's start the first lesson!"

"Okay?" Shinji asked with a bit of trepidation in his voice. Now, he wasn't so sure if he was any different to Armstrong.

Commander Ikari's Office

Ritsuko stood in front of Commander Ikari's desk. The room was fairly dark except for a little light above the desk, illuminating only the desk, Gendo, Kouzou, and Ritsuko. While they weren't in complete darkness, it was still a fairly creepy place to work in. With the focus being on the desk, the effect made it look as if it was as if they were the center of the universe at the moment.

"Has Shinji learned alchemy?" Gendo asked without hesitation. "Can he learn alchemy or is it something only these 'Amestrians' can do?"

'Straight to the point I see.' Ritsuko thought as she took out her notes. "That has yet to be determined. At the moment, Ensign Edward Elric is still in the process of teaching him the basics. We should have results of this trial by the end of the day."

"I see." Gendo said without changing position. "And if it is shown to be successful, how soon do you suppose this alchemy could be taught to Rei?"

"Well…" Ritsuko looked back at her notes. "Her wounds have all healed and she is ready to begin training with Unit 00. If the trials are successful, then I suppose we could begin teaching her in a few days!" She then frowned as she thought back to the previous activation test. "However, I would want to make sure that she can pilot Unit 00 before I have her learn alchemy. I suggest holding off any discussion…"

"No." Gendo spoke down to Ritsuko. "I am certain that what happened before was a one time anomaly. And if alchemy can be taught to people on this side of the world, then there is no reason why she shouldn't be taught as soon as possible."

Ritsuko sighed. "If you insist…"

Gendo continued on, interrupting Ritsuko. "By the way, has there any movement on the development of the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ritsuko looked back at Gendo and shook her head. "No. Right now, we've just been focused on trying to figure out how to use their alchemy to our advantage. Some of the scenarios the Magi have come up with have been, how should we say, less than practical." After a short pause to recollect her thoughts, she continued. "Tomorrow, once the research tents have been completely set up, I will take them to check out the Angel. Maybe they will find something useful there."

"We can only hope." Gendo replied. "Keep me updated on the trials. You're dismissed."

NERV Headquarters – Hallway

"Now, is this the correct way?" Roy said as he looked up at the numbers on the hallway. He then looked back at the map he was given of the complex. "Three weeks here, and I still haven't gotten the hang of this."

"Of course this place is more massive than any building I have every encountered." Armstrong noted next to Roy. "Even the largest castles would look insignificant compared to this complex."

"You're telling me." Roy said with a little sarcastically. "We could fit all the headquarters, bases, equipment, soldiers, and everyone in this place! And we'd still have room for recruits!"

Suddenly, the big guy's stomach started to rumble. It was amplified due to the fact that well, he's freaking big! "We need to really find that cafeteria! I must keep up my glorious physique with some nourishment!"

"Yeah," Roy again looked back at the map. His eyes were wide as he continued in his attempt to figure out where they were. "I think…the cafeteria is this way!" Roy pointed down a hallway to the left of him.

Armstrong and Roy trotted down that hallway for what seemed like thirty minutes. Not only was the scale of this complex huge, but also, given the apparent utilitarian mindset of the builders, most of the hallways, walkways, and so forth all looked the same. After they came to another fork in the hallways, they stopped to figure out which one they should take. After a few moments of arguing, they finally decided to just take a chance go down one of them. After another ten minutes or so of walking past random doors that led to who knows what, Armstrong came to a sudden stop as he noticed the markings on the wall.

"Didn't we already pass through this area?" Armstrong said as he pointed out the markings on the wall to Roy.

Roy looked at the markings and from. "And that water fountain looked awfully familiar too." He then slammed his fist into the wall. "Damn! I wish the lovely Captain Misato was here to lead us the way!"

Armstrong eyed Roy. "Um…Colonel…um, or Second Lieutenant, you shouldn't be saying this… "

"She isn't my wife!" Roy fired back at Armstrong, knowing full well what he was getting at. He glared back at Armstrong. 'I can't wait till we get back home and have this entire silliness end!'

It was at this moment that Roy noticed a girl walking past him. A girl he thought he had seen before. He turned his attention to the girl as he noted her appearance. She looked no older than fourteen or fifteen. Her skin was pure white, her hair was blue, and her eyes were red. Previously, the only people he knew that had red eyes were Ishbalians. She obviously wasn't one given her quite pale skin. Her clothes were also unusual for a military organization. Then again, Shinji also arrives here in a school uniform so it wasn't that unusual…that meant only one thing though.

Armstrong followed where Roy was looking at. He too, noticed the girl. "Isn't that…"

"Maybe," Roy said as he took a few steps closer to the girl. "Hey there."

The girl stopped in her tracks and then slightly turned her head in Roy's and Armstrong's direction. Her red eyes met the one that addressed her. "Yes?" She said in a quiet low tone.

"Hi, um, I'm Co…Second Lieutenant Mustang, and this is Junior Lieutenant Armstrong." Roy indicated to Armstrong who was cheerfully waving back at the girl. "Aren't you Rei Ayanami, the…what did they call it…" Roy looked down as he tried to remember what Ritsuko called her when they were in the hallway. Suddenly, it came to him, and looked back at the girl. "The First Child?"

"Yes. That is I." Rei replied in the same quiet voice.

Roy raised an eyebrow. Something about her wasn't quite normal. He can't seem to place it at the moment though. "The last time we saw you, you were injured. Something about an accident with the Eva?"

Rei, without changing expression, replied in the same tone. "I was."

'Something is definitely not right about this girl.' Roy concluded after her emotionless reply. Still, he pressed on. "What exactly happened during that event?"

"There was an accident." Rei simply replied.

Roy waited for a few seconds in order to see if Rei would elaborate. When it became clear that she wouldn't say anything else, he turned to Armstrong and whispered his concern. "Don't you think there is something wrong with her?"

Armstrong shrugged slightly before he whispered his reply. "Maybe it was an effect of the accident."

"Maybe," Roy whispered back.

Rei turned her head slightly between Roy and Armstrong. "Are you done conversing with me?"

Roy slowly turned his head to the girl. "Um, just few last thing before we let you go. Um…are you fourteen?"

"Yes." Rei replied, again, without much emotion.

"Aren't you…scared to pilot the Evangelion?" Roy asked. "Especially after the accident."

"No." Rei simply said back to him.

"Really?" Roy asked surprised by her simple and short answer. Though given her emotionless responses, maybe he shouldn't be. "But, you're only fourteen! And this was after the accident that left you seriously hurt if I'm not mistaken!"

"Why should I be afraid?" Rei replied, again in her unemotional state.

Armstrong decided to jump in at this moment. "You don't have to hide your fears from us! We perfectly understand the trial and tribulations of youths! Piloting a weapon in order to save the world! It must be difficult to carry such responsibility on your back!"

Rei, slightly confused, turned her head to the taller man who, oddly enough, kept his jacket on this time. However, even if he did do such thing, she wouldn't have reacted any differently either. "I do not follow what you are saying. It is my job to pilot the Evangelion. Why would I be afraid?"

Armstrong looked back down at the girl. Her answers were affecting even him. He looked in her eyes and was stunned when he noticed something. "Um…I see! Well…I'm sure this nation is proud of the service you provide!"

Rei simply stared back at him. After a few moments of a somewhat uncomfortable silence, she spoke up. "Are you done conversing with me?"

Roy blinked before he responded. "Um, yeah! You can go as you please."

"Thank you." Rei said before she turned around and exited the hallway.

After Rei left the hallway, both Armstrong and Roy turned to each other in order to discuss what just happened.

"She's unusual to say the least." Roy said about the just recently departed girl. "And not just physically. I mean, she seemed completely fearless, even with what happened to her! I guess you can say that she is taking it better than Shinji in this situation."

"And none of this was an act." Armstrong noted. "I looked into her eyes. There was not a hint of fear in them when she answered."

"Not a hint of fear?" Roy said as he too, remembered her red gaze. "Not a hint of emotion period!" Roy gazed down the hallway as he contemplated what this meant. "At first I thought that she was hiding behind some sort of emotional barrier. I mean, considering what she must've been through during that accident, and the knowledge that the world is depending on her survival. And maybe that's the case. But when I looked into her eyes…"

"There was none of that." Armstrong concluded. "It's as if…as if…she believed that she was made for this purpose, to pilot that machine, or bio-machine, from birth. Like it's her only purpose in life." Armstrong frowned at the thought.

Roy also frowned at that thought. "And that begs the question, where did they find her? What does her parents think? Does she have parents? Did the Commander do this to her? Is this what he wants Shinji and the other pilots to be like?" Roy questioned.

"We should ask Doctor Akagi about this." Armstrong suggested. "She should have something about her. Maybe even her history."

"Right," Roy agreed. "But I'm not sure we should talk to her right now. She is busy with the how to implement alchemy thing with Ed and Shinji. If it is even possible." Roy crossed his arms. "Not to mention the fact that she had the other job researching everything about the Eva. I'm sure that is keeping her busy as well. Maybe…when she has us teach Rei…" Roy then slapped his head as realization hits him. "I can't believe it! I totally forgot to ask Rei where the cafeteria is!"

Armstrong sighed after hearing that. "I guess we'll have to look for it ourselves…again!" He looked at the hallway numbers again. "So, where exactly are we?"

Streets of Tokyo 3

A man wearing a lab coat was at his computer terminal on sight where Shinji was standing when he was picked up. It also happened to be the place where the Amestris gang first appeared. The man had dark long auburn hair, and glasses. The area was completely blocked off by barricades, and the local businesses and residences that lined the streets have all been evacuated. To prevent costly lawsuits, or the wrong people asking the wrong questions, they were all compensated by NERV. Of course, given the damage the last Angel did in the area, many businesses and residents were happy to leave. And given Tokyo 3's dropping population, the businesses there would've found it hard to operate if they were allowed to stay. They were also glad that NERV gave them more than enough money to relocate. Especially, since, they would've also found it very difficult to sell their property here after the last Angel attack. Of course, that still meant that NERV needed a reason for taking this land other than out of the kindness of their own heart, which as most people know, they had none. The official reason for this land grab was the need to build a research center in the area. The real reason though, had to do with something entirely different.

A number of other lab coat wearing men and woman were setting up sensors all over the area. A few of them returned to the on-site truck for a coffee break.

The dark auburn hair man gazed at the data that was coming in to his computer. He took a sip from his coffee as he picked up the phone and dialed NERV headquarters. Once the other side picked up, he spoke. "Yes, this is Doctor Yamato Sagura, ID number 1896674. I need to talk to Doctor Ritsuko Akagi please." After a short moment of silence, he hears the voice he called for. "Yes Doctor, I have just compiled the first data from the onsite analysis." After another short pause, he lightly nodded. "Yes. There is definitely something here, or at least something still here since they have arrived." After another short pause, he held the receiver with his shoulder in order to free up his hand as he began to type on his computer. "Yes, I'm sending the information now." After another pause as he waited for the data to fully upload, he again heard Ritsuko's voice and again, nodded. "That's my first response when I saw the data." Pause. "What does this mean? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it could be…" Pause. "Yes. I will continue to monitor it from this location." Pause. "Yes, I will keep you inform if I have anything new, bye!" Yamato hung up the phone as he rubbed his eyes. He pushed his seat back as he gazed his underlings near him. "Michelle, make sure you calibrated that device correctly."

"I will Doctor!" The blond American girl said as she placed the device into the ground. She was fooling around with the knobs as she commented on her new assignment. "I can't believe what is happening in this area!"

"Yeah," Yamoto said as he stood up from his chair. He stared in what appeared to be a normal looking scene in front of him: a quiet road, with damaged buildings lining the street. After taking a few steps, he found himself kicking a small rock on the ground. He looked at the rock, and picked it. He looked at it with considerable interest. After throwing it up in the air a few times, each time landing back into his hand, he looked up at the road in front of him. He threw the rock into the empty street.

The rock continued its trip. But instead of making a typical arch, the rock's path suddenly distorted after it hit a certain area. The road, buildings, and even the air seemed to shimmer at this point. After a few seconds of what appeared to be the rock hovering in mid-air, the rock simply disappeared.

NERV Headquarters – Training Room

"I still can't believe all of this is possible." Shinji said as he made a circle on the ground. Everything he was taught in school goes against the idea of this working. Even what little he knew of alchemy and chemistry fought against this notion. And yet, that was not what his eyes were telling him when he saw Edward achieve the very thing he was doing.

"Well in a world that never developed alchemy in the first place, I wouldn't be surprised." Edward smiled. "Once you do it, you'll be the first person in this world to do alchemy!"

"How do you know that I can even do it?" Shinji asked as he placed a block on concrete inside the circle. "I mean, if no one else in this world has done it…"

"I'm sure you can do it!" Edward reassured Shinji as he sat on the bench next to him. "But you'll never know unless you try!"

"Okay." Shinji said unsure of himself. "I'll…try." He took a deep breath before his placed his hand on the circle. He was in deep concentration as he tried to turn the block of concrete into…well, anything. "Ehhhhhhhhhh!" Shinji grunted as he waited for anything to happen. Anything. He then picked up his arms in frustration. "Grr. I can't!"

"Yes you can!" Edward egged him on, even though in the back of his mind, he wasn't completely sure if he could do it, or if it was even possible for him to do it. "Just, remember, try something simple at first! We all have to start somewhere."

"Okay." Shinji took another deep breath before he placed his hands back onto the circle. He closed his eyes as he started to concentrate. "Create something…"

After a few more moments of nothing still, Edward was starting to get discouraged. 'Maybe it is only something only we could do. And even then, it is harder for some to do then ot…'

Suddenly, at that moment, the ground started glow.

Shinji opened his eyes as he saw the ground glow. He was in awe as the circle was seemingly consuming the concrete block. Then, like it was being summoned back into this world, a concrete horse came back up. Or at least, what looked like a concrete horse, it lacked any kind of detail that would distinguish it with basically, anything. Still, the fact that he could do anything amazed Shinji. "I did it…" Shinji's eyes widened considerable. "I did it! I can't believe! It was…"

Edward smiled. 'He did it!' "Amazing right?"

Shinji smiled. He slowly picked up the concrete horse. "I…wow!"

"With a little more practiced from Professor Edward…" Edward put an arm around Shinji. "You can do a lot more than this!"

Shinji whipped his head towards Edward stunned. "I can?" Suddenly, realization started to sink in. If he could do this, then he could do a lot more. Make stuff more elaborate and more detailed. "I can!" Shinji's eyes lit up considerably.

Above them inside a glass enclosure, Gendo Ikari grinned at his son's achievement. His goal seemed to be step closer now to becoming reality.

* * *

-------End of Chapter 9

Well, that was another chapter out of the way! And I hope you like my shorter than normal AN for this story (at least, at the top). Again, I apologize for the long AN here. It isn't that I'm incapable of not writing long AN. Especially for readers of my "Valliant Shinji" where, I barely have any! It's just that, well, given the complexity of this story (and the billions of questions AND suggestions I get for this one), I just feel compelled to answer then, and explain my thinking as I go along.

Oh, and Isamu, I've taken up your suggestion about showing more rather than telling. In my revisions for Chapter 3, I've started to be 'less telling', and more 'showing'. Even then, don't expect perfection (which I assume, you don't). :-P This also means that I've FINALLY started to revise the previous chapters so that they can be correct for the sake of continuity (and little changes here and there for detail…and any remaining grammar errors). However, given my extreme laziness, AND the beginning of my LAST year in school (hopefully) it will take me a while to change all of them, but at least I started doing it, right?

Also, I'm trying something I normally don't do…have a beta reader. While this story, like my other Eva stories, are proofread before I put them up, nitpickers, and even some general readers will still find TONS of grammar mistakes (especially towards the end since that part is newer and I might miss some since my brain hasn't readjusted yet to catch them). With a beta reader, this chapter should be more polished than it already is.

Thanks to X-Over for looking over this update. Still, if any of you find mistakes, I take full responsibility for them!

Next Chapter…Now that Shinji knows a basic form of Alchemy what does this mean to the NERV? When they see the Angel, what will this mean to the future of NERV? And What about Rei? Until then…later!


	10. Rei

-Another update!

-I didn't realize that the last chapter was my shortest chapter until I put it up. Granted, given what I added in the last chapter, or more appropriately what I didn't add, I guess I should have expected that. Anyways, this chapter SHOULD be longer. And as promised (somewhere), that this chapter will be out before years end! And so, here it is!

-Now, to answer a FEW reviews, PhilG, thanks for the info! I'll keep that in mind as I go through this story (and the revisions that I will 'eventually' do). I'm still up in the air if I will deal with since I'm more focused on trying to get the previous chapters in line with the story timeline. BTW, if you wondering where I based the rankings of NERV personally, I got it from this website, which at the moment is down, www dot jedijawa dot com. I'm not sure that site will be back, but if it does come back, they had a list showing the ranks and compared it to real life military rankings. This was where I got the ranking system for NERV. Though now that I think about it, it probably was extremely inaccurate since it might have been a part of an online Eva RPG (a few other websites that had one were DEFINITELY for an online RPG). That, and I'm not even sure if they ever specify what ranking system they use in the series, and just used a general one. Still, when I needed a ranking system, that's what I used.

-Oh, and Maya/Armstrong…maybe… ;-)

-And you probably get this a lot, but…well thanks for the service you did for our country! Not a lot of men (and women) would be able to do what you did!

-Now, to Gester, well, grammar is the thing MOST people complain about in my stories so, it would be the thing I will focus on (well, after plot, characterization, etc). Oh, and speaking of characterization, Armstrong, he wasn't necessarily girly, just, well, really excited. And if you had seen the recent "Flame Alchemist" episode, I'd say it's still pretty accurate. Also, ripping off his shirt every so often, I don't know, but he definitely looks like he's making up for something. ;-)

-Nothing more to say right now? Cool! On with the story!

* * *

Misato's Residence

"Yeah, he's asleep right now." Misato said on the phone. She yawned as she leaned back on the wall of her now darkened apartment. "From what it appears, he seemed to be doing well."

"You haven't seen any health or behavior problems since he got home did you Misato?" Ritsuko inquired over the phone.

"Why?" Misato asked as she raised an eyebrow over the question. "Is there some side effect due to the alchemy that I should know about? I thought you checked him over after Ed was done with him?"

"I did, and he was perfectly healthy." Ritsuko said in a calm voice that was meant to give Misato some reassurance. "I just wanted to make sure that there weren't any health problems after he left here."

"Well…" Misato looked back towards Shinji's room. "I haven't seen anything to cause me concern. On this end, he appears to be perfectly healthy and normal! Although…"

"Although?" Ritsuko asked with concern in her voice.

"Although he seemed to be more…confident in himself." Misato finished as she remembered Shinji's slight smile.

"Hehehe." Ritsuko softly laughed on the other end of the line. "I see. Well, we can chalk that one up as having nothing to do with the actual process of alchemy!"

"I don't know!" Misato grinned. "I think it had everything to do with it! After all, it wasn't for those other worlders…"

Ritsuko interrupted Misato. "Speaking of those 'other worlders', I'm going to take them to see the Angel remains tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" Misato asked with a slight bewilderment on her face. "What a coincidence! I'm taking Shinji there tomorrow morning as well!"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it 'coincidence' since that's basically the only time we will be on site there. After all, we would simply leave it up to the research team to…" Ritsuko suddenly paused as she just realized what Misato completely said. "Huh? Wait, you're taking Shinji?" Ritsuko replied in a questioning tone. "Why?"

Misato sighed as she heard Ritsuko's questions. "Look, we are asking him to fight these Angels right? Shouldn't he at least know what he's fighting? Up close?"

"True." Ritsuko admitted. "Well, I guess there would be no harm done in bringing him along."

"Exactly!" Misato said with a smile. She then thought back to the 'other worlders' again. "So, you're hoping the Alchemists would find a way to defeat these Angels in a way we haven't discovered yet?"

"We'll see." Ritsuko simply replied. "I'm almost willing to accept anything from them to tell you the truth!"

"Yeah," Misato yawned again. "Well, I guess I should get to sleep! Bye Ritsuko."

"Bye!" Ritsuko said on the other line before she hung up.

-Next Morning…

Base of the Mountain – NERV Facility Housing the Angel

At the base of the mountain, a white outline marked the area where the Evangelion fell. Plant life around where the Eva fell was dead. Further down the scarred mountain, the Angel's remains were mostly intact. Since it was too big to move it to a say, the Geo Front, they instead built an entire facility around it. It was the only way that NERV could keep pesky onlookers, like the media, from taking too many questionable pictures and raising unnecessary questions about the Angels or NERV itself.

Inside the hastily built facility, it was abuzz with tons of activity. The platforms were full of NERV personnel. On the ground, Shinji was standing next to a giant bolt to his left, and Ed, Armstrong, and Roy to his right. All personnel inside the facility had to wear hardhats, and they were no different. Though privately, Ritsuko believed that Armstrong didn't need a hardhat since his head was probably hard enough to survive anything.

Shinji looked at the Angel remains in slight awe. "So, this is what the enemy looks like close up."

Ed was also amazed. "I haven't seen anything like it before in my life."

"Me neither." Roy added. Though he too was amazed by what he was seeing, it did not register on his face as he stared seriously at the Angel remains. "It's difficult to even comprehend that such a thing could even exist."

"This monstrosity's size and power seemed to be physically impossible with everything we know in science." Armstrong noted with sparkles around him. Which was an amazing feat given that at the moment, he was wearing his jacket. "But obviously it was no match to the might of humanity!"

In front of them was Misato, who rolled her eyes at Armstrong's corny little speech. _'We're good. You're good. We get it. You don't need to keep making some oration about it! Oh, and you don't need to keep ripping your shirt off either. Your muscles are huge. We get that too.'_ Misato thought. She didn't say out loud of course. When it came up, she decided 'no' to her mind in order not to harm the big guy's feelings. Afterwards, Misato returned her attention to the Angel, and Ritsuko who was standing on a platform above her.

"I see." Ritsuko said in an excited tone. She was on a platform above Shinji and the others examining the Angel remains. Next to her were two technicians continuing their work there. "Everything except the core remains intact. This is a perfect sample." She turned around and spoke to her NERV crew. "Thank you, this will help us a lot!"

"Okay! So, did you find anything new?" Misato responded down below.

Ritsuko looked down at the group. "You all should follow me to the office…"

-later…

NERV Facility Housing the Angel – Office

Ritsuko was typing in the data she collected into the computer. Behind her were Misato, Shinji Armstrong, Roy, and Ed all eagerly awaiting answers from Ritsuko. They were all holding a cup of juice as well. After a moment, the computer flashed the numbers 601.

Ed looked at the numbers and scratched his head. "601? What does that mean?"

Ritsuko responded, "That's our systems code number for 'cannot be analyzed.'"

"In other words…you have no idea what this is." Roy said, more a statement than a question.

"Correct." Ritsuko answered as she sat back in her chair. "We do know however that the Angel is composed of a type of matter characterized by both particulate and wave properties, like light."

"Light?" Ed raised an eyebrow. He turned to look at the doorway that led out to of the office and into where the Angel was. "Well, we knew that it probably wasn't a carbon based form of life but…light?"

"The mystery deepens." Armstrong commented as he thought about what this meant. "At least we know that this being isn't immortal."

"And thank god for that." Ritsuko said as she sighed. 'Literally.' Ritsuko added mentally.

They all took a pause to drink before anyone spoke up.

After taking their drinks, Misato was the first to speak up. "But you've at least found its power source, haven't you?"

Ritsuko put down her drink before responding. "Something like that. But we haven't been able to figure out any of its operating principles."

"We've found something completely outside our experience." Misato stated.

"The world is filled with mysteries." Ritsuko stated as she moved away from the computer.

"Don't we know that." Ed stated as he remembered his time roaming the countryside looking for any new information about the Philosopher's Stone.

"And it's up to scientist like ourselves to uncover them." Roy said as he took another sip from his drink.

"Then again, some mysteries are better left covered." Misato added. "Isn't that right boys?"

"Well, rightly or wrongly, even then that won't stop scientists from uncovering them anyways Misato." Ritsuko answered for them. She grinned at her friend who simply frowned at that statement. "Now, back to the mysteries of the world, an example could be right here." Ritsuko pointed to the computer screen. "This is the Angel's inherent waveform pattern."

Ed was the first to look at them. He cocked his head in wonder. "What exactly am I looking at?"

The others followed suit, though for Shinji, Armstrong, and Roy, all they could see were colorful lines.

Misato on the other hand, knew exactly what she was looking at. "Could this be?"

"Yes, although they are composed of a different form of matter, their actual composition, in terms of arrangement and spacing of the pattern, falls within 99.89 percent match of humans." Ritsuko noted.

"So you're saying that we have something in common with these monstrosities… But what exactly?" Armstrong questioned, still confused over what he was seeing.

"To our genetic code, DNA." Ritsuko stated. Then, she turned to the others as she realized something. "Oh, did your people discover DNA yet?"

"Well, there have been theories about some sort of genetic code." Ed noted. "After all, if you look at it scientifically, there had to be a reason why we have features from both our parents, why our hair color is the way it is etc. But as far as I know, the concept hasn't been fully developed yet. I don't think we got to the point where we named what this code is, or what it looked like."

"I see." Ritsuko said as she suspected as much. "Well, the long short of it is, DNA means deoxyribonucleic acid. It is a nucleic acid that holds the genetic instructions for any given person or any other living creature that you could imagine. Though our DNA is vastly different from that of a cat or a fish as you could probably infer. Their appearance that you typically see them if you read one of our textbooks is that of a double helix. Much like…" Ritsuko pointed back to the computer screen. "That."

While Ritsuko was teaching them what DNA was, Shinji noticed his father walk by, and decided to see what was up with him.

"Hmm." Ed said as he looked at the computer screen.

Roy's eyes widened at this revelation. "So we are the genetic equals to these Angels?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Unbelievable isn't it? We must acknowledge our limited level of understanding once again."

"And that red thing…is that where their power source is?" Ed said. He began to feel antsy as his mind was telling him that he was on the verge of some sort of revelation. What that was, he wasn't entirely sure yet.

"The core?" Ritsuko asked. "We believe so. But again, we have absolutely no idea how it works. All we know is that it contains properties that with our limited knowledge of the laws of physics, is seemingly impossible."

Meanwhile, Shinji was at the doorway. He looked down to see his father standing next to a few workers, lowering the Angel core. His eyes dropped down to his father's hands. To his awe, they seemed to have been burned.

Back near the computer, Ed was in deep thought. _'Red thing…red like the Philosopher's Stone…'_ Then, it was as if a lightning bolt struck Ed at that very moment. "Wait, they are our genetic equals right?"

Roy eyed Ed after what appeared to him, was an inane statement. "Um, yeah. She just said that. Weren't you paying attention Fullmetal?" He began to feel that the shrimp need a good whack on the head before he ask any more stupid questions.

"Yes!" Ed eyed Roy suspiciously. "Now, tell me, what's also red and does not follow the same rules governed by science?"

Misato was the first to catch on. "Wait, are you saying that core is some sort of Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed quickly shook his head. "I'm not sure about that. BUT…that did get me thinking. We know that at the moment, the only known way to make a Philosopher's Stone requires people. A LOT of people."

"Yeah…something you won't do even if…" Then, Ritsuko put the pieces together in her head. "But what if you could substitute the basis for the Philosopher's Stone…" Ritsuko turned to the computer, "with a perfect replica?"

Roy's eyes widened as he just realized that same notion. However, he still had doubts about this. "But Fullmetal, do you think it will work? For one thing, these Angels, while they have the same genetic makeup as us, they are made from an entirely different form of matter."

"True." Ed conceded that point. "However, isn't that already answered in Alchemy? In order to get something, you have to give something in return. First, you get a form of matter, figure out its composition, break it down, and then rebuild it into something that could be entirely different. As long as it can have mass and weight, then it can be transmuted right?"

"Oh Edward Elric, I knew as a scientist you can find an alternative to a solution!" Armstrong cheerfully said as he somehow rose behind him, surrounded by sparkles of course.

Ed eyed Armstrong wearily. "Um…yeah…"

"Sound great and all Fullmetal." Roy said, as he still found holes in Ed's plan. "But the keywords in your statement is to 'figure out its composition'". Last time I check, you, or I, or anyone else here could barely comprehend biological transmutation. Much less…something that isn't even a carbon-based lifeform…"

"Well, we all have to start somewhere." Ritsuko grinned as she tried to reassure her subordinate. The idea that this, 'Philosopher's Stone' could be at their fingertips thanks to the Angels was too good to simply pass up. Like, killing two birds with one stone. "Trial and error, understanding a given substances property, all scientists live by that right? Not to mention the fact that we do have the perfect test subject right now. Well, almost perfect if it wasn't dead."

"Then again, if it wasn't dead, we would never be able to experiment on it." Misato offhandedly added as she noticed Shinji's interest was elsewhere. "Shinji? What's wrong?"

The rest of the group turned to Shinji, all noticing that he was staring outside.

Shinji was slightly startled by Misato's question. He then turned back to face her. "Huh? Well, nothing's wrong." He said evasively.

Misato sighed. "Shinji, are you aware that when you say 'nothing' that way, it's the same way as asking others to pay attention to you?" She said as she pointed at Shinji.

Shinji looked down, as he knew he was caught. After a short pause, he answered. "Well, it's just that my father seems to have burned his hands."

"Burned?" Misato blinked in wonder.

"I was just wondering how it happened." Shinji continued.

Armstrong, Roy, and Ed all listened, curious about what happened. All three also did not say anything and only listened.

"Burns?" Misato repeated. She then turned to Ritsuko. "Do you know anything about those burns?"

Ritsuko nodded in confirmation. "It was before you arrived at NERV. Unit 00 went berserk during the activation experiments. You've heard about that right?"

"Yes." Shinji replied.

'_The accident that got the first pilot, Rei Ayanami hurt.'_ Roy thought. _'Wonder what that has to do with the Commander's burned hands?'_

"The pilot was trapped inside." Ritsuko continued.

"Ayanami was the pilot, wasn't she?" Shinji asked, though he pretty much knew the answer.

"It was Commander Ikari who rescued her. He opened the super-heated hatch with his bare hands." Ritsuko said.

"My father did that?" Shinji asked amazed.

"That's how he burned his hands." Ritsuko finished.

Armstrong, Roy, and Ed were all wide eyed when they heard that.

"So…" Armstrong began flexing his muscles. "The Commander does have a heart under that unemotional shell!"

"Uhhhhhh…" Misato, Ritsuko, Roy, and Ed all rolled their eyes at Armstrong's comments.

"ANYWAYS…" Misato looked at her watch. "We should be going now! School is about to start for Shinji." She took Shinji's hand and begun making her way to the exit. Before she did, she turned to Ed. "Oh, and want a ride to school too Edward?"

"Yeah sure," Ed said as he caught up to her.

"Just remember that we have a test later this afternoon!" Ritsuko shouted at them.

"Yes." Shinji said as he disappeared from the office.

After they left, Armstrong stopped flexing his muscles and, for the time being, the sparkles around him disappeared.

"Well, I guess we should get back to work." Ritsuko tapped the side of her chin. "Now what job should I assign you two to…"

Roy then turned to Ritsuko as he wondered about something. "So, do you know what caused that accident with Unit 00?" He questioned. "And don't tell me it's classified…"

"No, it's not classified." Ritsuko stated as she sat back down in her chair. "And to be completely honest with you, we still have no clue what happened that caused Unit 00 to go berserk." Ritsuko sighed.

"Any theories doctor?" Armstrong said in his typical strong voice of his. Not really intentional, just that, it came out that way.

"Well…" Ritsuko looked to the side. "We believe that it might be mental instability with the pilot being the primary cause."

"Mental instability?" Roy and Armstrong's eyes nearly bulged out from their sockets when they heard that. Especially when they took into account their experience with Rei. "Rei Ayanami? That Rei Ayanami?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. Her mind had become much more disturbed than anticipated."

Roy and Armstrong continued to blink in amazement over that fact.

"Well, it might explain why she's so quiet and demure…" Armstrong noted.

"But mental instability?" Roy added, still not believing it.

Both Armstrong and Roy began reevaluating Rei Ayanami with this new data. In their mind, they imagined talking to Rei again.

'_Hey Rei, check out these!' Dream Armstrong said as he began flexing._

_Dream Roy simply waved at her._

_Dream Rei stared from one person, then to the other. Suddenly, Dream Rei suddenly brings out an axe._

_Dream Armstrong stopped in his tracks. 'Huh? Don't you like these beautiful wonderful…'_

'_No.' Dream Rei started hacking away at Dream Armstrong. Blood began to splatter everywhere._

_Dream Roy's eyes widened considerably. He turned around and began running for his life. 'AHHHHHHHHHHHH!'_

Dream Rei began chasing Dream Roy, covered in blood and slashing her blood covered axe around.

Back in the real world, Armstrong and Roy both held terrified faces.

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes as she stared at the two, as she knew exactly what they were thinking. "I didn't mean that!"

Roy and Armstrong both blinked back into reality.

"Oh well, uh…yeah!" Armstrong quickly responded.

"Right!" Roy said with a slightly embarrassed smile. He then tried to get more serious. "Anyways, what can you tell us about Rei Ayanami? Her parents? Her past?"

It took a moment for Ritsuko to register that the two have 'recovered' from their little fantasy. Once she did, she responded to Roy. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you much about it. You see, her record, after she was chosen by the Marduk Report to be the designated pilot of Unit 00, was completely wiped out. So her past, where she was born, and her parents, were all deleted."

"Hmm." Roy crossed his arms. "There's an awful lot a secrecy surrounding this girl don't you think?"

"I understand the need for some confidentiality. But I don't think even Shinji's past is this secret." Armstrong stated.

"That's NERV for you." Ritsuko said wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible. "So, ready for your new assignments?"

Roy frowned. He was getting the sense that Ritsuko wasn't telling him something about Rei. But he decided not to push the issue further. Being a lowly Second Lieutenant doesn't give you a lot of authority when it came to 'confidential' matters. "Yes ma'am."

District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School Class 2-A

Ed sat in the front seat, slightly dejected. "It was bad enough that I have to go to school! Now I have to sit here and waste time listening to his lecture on Second Impact, AGAIN! It's not even the real story!" Ed said with indignation under his breath. As he peered around the room, he noted that Shinji's other new friends; Touji and Kensuke were, like most of the class, not paying any attention to the professor. They appeared to be bored out of their minds, which again, was true for most of the class. For Touji, he was eying a few cute girls that were next to him. He was apparently waiting for PE to begin where he could goggle at them all day. Kensuke was typing something down on his laptop. Probably something related to the military. He then noted the Class Representative. Of all the students in Class 2-A, she was probably the only one that seemed to be paying attention to the professor. At least, she held the appearance of paying attention; he suspected that she too, didn't care for the Professor's ranting. That was the case, on most days. On this day however, she was sneaking some quick peeks at, well, him. Once Ed caught her eyes, she immediately blushed and turned away. Ed found himself blushing slightly due to the attention he was getting, and immediately decided to focus his observance away from her and towards another student, mainly Shinji. And speaking of Shinji…

Apparently, Class Representative Hikari Horaki wasn't the only one sneaking a glance at another person of the opposite gender. Though in the case of Shinji, it was more then a quick glance.

Ed eyed Shinji and noted that, unlike the previous times where Shinji listened to his SDAT tapes, something he had been doing when he discovered the same thing the rest of the class discovered, mainly, the old fart just repeated his Second Impact lecture when he was done, Shinji's attention was now focused on an entirely different location. That location just happened to be where a certain blue-haired girl was sitting. As Ed noticed that Shinji's seemingly intense stare at Rei, a wry grin slowly appeared on his face. Quietly, but quickly, he got next to Shinji, held up his hand to the side of his mouth, and whispered to him. "If you like her that much Shinji, maybe you should go talk to her!"

"Huh? Eh?" Shinji sounded, a little louder than he should have, jumped up from his seat a bit after his thoughts was interrupted by the person next to him. "I…uhhh…it's not like that!" He said in a much quieter tone.

However, Shinji's initial little outburst got the attention of his two other friends.

"Huh?" Kensuke looked up from his laptop and eyed Shinji.

Touji craftily glared at Shinji and grinned. "So Shinji has the hots for someone!"

Shinji immediately blushed at Touji's comments. "No! I mean…no! It's nothing like that!"

"Oh really? Than why are you so interested in Rei all of a sudden?" Ed's grin widened.

Kensuke turned his head back to Rei, who, as expected, was staring out of the window looking at god knows what. He then swiveled his head back to Shinji, then to Rei, and then to Shinji again. Like Touji, a feral grin started to appear on his face. "So Shinji has a crush on Rei!"

"I do not!" Shinji said, a little louder than he intended.

Now the whole class, minus Rei for some reason, as well as the clueless professor who simply continued to drown on with his lecture, were all staring at Shinji.

Shinji looked around the room and noticed that everyone was staring at him. He sank down into his seat. "I mean, that's not…well, you know…"

"Of course not! You were only staring at her lovely breast, her silky thighs…" Touji began listing it off.

"No!" Shinji said, sinking even further into his seat, and going even redder at the inquisition.

"Sure you are!" Ed said while winking at him.

"Hey you guys!" Hikari frowned at the boys pestering Shinji. "We're still in class you know! You're all supposed to be paying attention to the Professor! I can't believe the disrespect here!" She watched as the boys all sat back, first with shock at the intrusion of the Class Rep that then turned into guilt. The rest of the class, seeing Hikari step into the mix, decided that their attention was needed elsewhere. Granted, it was elsewhere BUT the Professor, but still elsewhere.

"Yes Class Representative!" Touji, Kensuke, and Edward all said in unison, slightly downtrodden. They all turned away from Hikari in order to avoid eye contact, and not incur her wrath.

Ed unfortunately, was the exception when suddenly Hikari threw her notepad at him.

Ed felt a sharp stink on top of his forehead, and covered it immediately. He glared at Hikari after the notepad bounced away. "Ouch!" He harshly whispered out. "What was that for?"

Hikari narrowed her eyes at Ed, causing him to back down a bit. "Of all people, YOU should know better!"

Ed turned away and mumbled something under his breath.

After she caught Ed mumbling, Hikari launched a book at him. Given the increase in mass and weight of the new object, the impact was also much greater on Ed's head. For Ed, he was now on the ground, flaring his arms around, as his mental stability was temporary interrupted.

'_I'll deal with him later.'_ Hikari thought as her focus then turned to Shinji. "Sorry you had to go through that Mister Ikari."

Shinji turned to Hikari and smiled slightly. "Thanks Class Rep."

"Still, if you want to get to know Rei Ayanami better, just talk to her!" Hikari smiled.

"Well, I…what?" Shinji suddenly turned to Hikari. _'Not her too!'_ "But I…" Shinji stopped in mid-track as he realized that Hikari's words could be interpreted in many ways. And in reality, he did want to know a little more about Rei Ayanami. Not as a girlfriend per say, just, he wanted to know what was under the shell that she seemed to put up. And speaking of that shell… "Well, that's kind of the problem. I mean she's kind of hard to talk to."

Ed, having recovered from the book that was thrown at him, was able to catch what Shinji said. "Huh? Hard to talk to?"

"Yeah," Shinji said in a slightly lower tone. While it was pretty obvious that the Professor didn't seem to care one iota about his surroundings, that didn't mean that they should be talking as if class ended. "I mean have you talked to her Ed?"

Ed shook his head. "No. The only time I really see her was during class. I never see her around NERV. But you're a pilot so you should have more opportunities than me to encounter her."

Hikari looked up to see the quiet girl in question. "Come to think of it, I never see her talk to anyone."

"I know." Shinji noted sadly. "And yet, we still don't talk."

"Come to think of it, I don't think she has any friends." Touji interjected.

Kensuke also looked back at her, and then turned back to Shinji. "There's something about her that, just, makes her hard to talk to I guess."

Hikari frowned. _'That's right. Maybe she isn't used to talking to people.'_ She thought as she wondered about the quiet little girl there. Then a grin appeared on her face. _'Maybe I can help Rei be more social with Shinji's help! Who knows where that might lead?'_

Ed gazed at Rei for a moment. _'She has no friends, and always doing the same thing day in, and day out. She also never questions orders from what little I know of her at NERV. I wonder what's going on in her mind?'_

At that moment, the bell rang. Everyone returned to his or her seats, and waited for Hikari to do her usual stint before they all exited the classroom.

-Later…

Streets of Tokyo 3

After school ended, Shinji, Touji, Kensuke, and Ed were all heading towards their ultimate destination, NERV Headquarters in order to begin another round of activation test for Shinji. Well, okay, Touji and Kensuke are only there until they get to the front gate since they have no business with NERV. And technically, Ed could avoid going to NERV Headquarters right away since he really didn't have anything better to do. Still, accompanying Shinji didn't bother him one bit since; again, he really had nothing better to do. Which was in contrast to his time in Amestris where he was always doing something. Whether that something was looking for any information on the Philosopher's Stone, hunting Scar, or any other task that Roy would give him in the few times that they ran into each other, his stay here in this world was mostly marked by an excessive amount of free time. Even now after he made his revelation about his theory on the Philosopher's Stone and Angels, he had to wait on Doctor Akagi to get all the necessary equipment and paper work done before he can begin experimenting. Okay, he could go home and check on Al and keep him company for a few hours, which weren't all that fun given that Al was more interesting watching the television than hanging out with him, but other than that, his day was mostly free until after Shinji finishes the activation test. Then he could finally begin the other job Doctor Akagi gave him, a teaching session with Shinji on improving and refining Shinji's alchemy skills.

"Are you sure you can't allow me to enter?" Kensuke pleaded to Shinji.

Touji rolled his eyes. "Give it up Kensuke! He said no many many times. And remember, this is Shinji you're talking about! When Shinji says it, you know you're not allowed! And even if you somehow convince Shinji to allow you in, I'm sure the higher ups would never allow you."

"But Shinji's a pilot!" Kensuke said undeterred. "I'm sure he can pull some strings! I mean, they can't kick him out of NERV! They need him!"

"Well, civilians are not allowed inside of NERV." Ed said nonchalantly. "Besides, I don't think Ritsuko or Misato would allow it no matter what I or Shinji say."

"But…but…but…I'm his friend!" Kensuke continued to plead. "And yours too right?" Kensuke smiled at Ed. A smile that quickly disappeared when he say Ed glaring at him. "Um, well, I promise not to touch anything! Or even take any pictures!"

Ed shook his head. He looked at Kensuke, then looked ahead to the direction of NERV Headquarters, and frowned. "Hey, while I'm not one to care about orders, I'm not too sure letting a civilian into NERV is a wise idea in any situation. Orders or no orders." _'Especially a moron like Kensuke here.'_

"Hi brother!" A certain someone said next to the passing group.

"Hi Al." Ed said without realizing it. Suddenly, after it sank in on what he said, his eyes widened considerably, and stopped he dead in his track. He slowly creaked his head back.

Touji, Kensuke, and Shinji also stopped dead in their tracks at that moment.

"Did I just see a man wearing full armor?" Touji said with a stunned expression.

Ed looked back, and confirmed that yes; it was Al he was seeing. His mouth dropped wide open.

Kensuke was the next to creak his head back and stare at the unusual sight in front of him. "Uh yup! I'd say you did Touji!"

Shinji also looked back and saw Al. However, unlike the other three, his appearance on the street in broad daylight didn't startle him. "Oh hi Al! Been a while since I've last seen you."

Touji and Kensuke shot their heads to Shinji. "You know that guy?" They both yelled in unison.

"Yeah…that's Edward's younger brother, Alphonse! You can just call him Al!" Shinji answered.

Touji and Kensuke first darted their eyes at Ed, then at Al. They repeated that motion for a while. They noticed a few things, one…Al, the 'younger' brother, was freaking TALL compared to the shrimp known as Edward. Second, he was wearing full body armor. And not just any armor, armor that appeared to come from medieval Europe. They knew Ed had artificial limbs, and now he had a super tall brother wearing full body armor. Taking all this in, that meant that the Elrics are… "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! What kind of freaky family are you two in?"

"Uh hehehe!" Ed scratched the back of his head. "You see…"

"And I thought I could mess with them?" Touji's teeth started chattering as he started to bite his nails. "Man was I stupid!"

"And how can he be your younger brother?" Kensuke said pointing to Al. "Did that accident you were in stunted your growth?"

"Um, well you see…" Ed's reserved cheerful expression disappeared. His eyes narrowed as fire burned through his eyes. "ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I'M SHORT?"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kensuke covered his head and shut his eyes in fear. "No, no, no, no, no! You're really tall! Just that, your brother is taller!"

Ed glared at Kensuke before he returned his attention to his brother. "Anyways, um about that…first, he isn't my younger brother." He turned and acknowledges Al. "I'm surprised you're out and about Al! OLDER brother?"

"Older?" Shinji said, blinking in confusion. "I thought he was…"

Ed bumped his arm at Shinji. "You must be mistaken! I mean, being that he's so TALL and that he 'used' to work for NERV…" Ed emphasized tall and NERV.

"Oh…OH!" Shinji said as realization struck him. "How did I ever think he was your younger brother?" Shinji lightly hits himself on the head. "How could I be so foolish!"

Touji gulped. "Well, okay that makes sense. There is no way he could be his younger brother. But why the heck is he in armor?"

"Another NERV worker? Interesting." Kensuke said as his interest increased on the Elric brothers. _'Maybe I can question them about NERV Germany and see what they have been doing. Doesn't explain the armor though…' _At that moment…

"Because he was involved in an accident at NERV's German Branch." An unshaven man wearing glasses and a brown vest, with a reporter's ID hanging around his neck stepped out from the store behind Al. "Oops! I wasn't supposed to know that info was I?"

"Careful Mister Hughes, that kind of information could get you killed!" Ed playfully replied. His expression then turned serious as his thoughts returned to his brother. "Now, about Al…you know how dangerous it is if…" Ed lightly tapped his armor. His eyes widened when he noticed that the sound coming out was more of a thump, rather than an echo.

"Oh that? Well, it shouldn't be a problem if I stay in this suit! Hehehe…" Al lightly chuckled. "Besides, I don't want to spend all day watching the television. Mister Hughes says that it isn't good for me!"

"That's right!" Hughes said waving at them. "There's more to life then just sitting in front of the TV watching anime all day."

"Yup!" Al replied. He than knelt down to Ed's height and whispered into his ear. "It's called ballistics gelatin! It's supposed to simulate human tissue! Oh, and it also covers some ceramic bones as well!"

"Hmm. That solves one thing." Ed whispered back. "But…wouldn't the gelatin rub against a certain symbol…"

"Don't worry about that either brother! Doctor Akagi thought of that as well! You see, there is now a metal plate covering the symbol that she screwed into the armor. That way, the gelatin will never make contact and, basically rub away my existence!" Al said in a reassuring tone. "Though, with this gelatin in me, it is a little hard to move around."

"Well, you wanted to step out into the sunlight! What did you expect?" Edward said in a louder tone. His arms indicated the small crowd that was staring at Al.

Al sighed loudly. "Well, not my problem that experi…I mean my sensitive skin prevents me from leaving in normal clothing!"

Touji and Kensuke all stared at Al. "Sensitive skin?" They both said in unison.

"Yup!" Hughes answered for Al as he stepped in front of him. "That's why he can't leave his armor. If he takes it off, well, he might not survive. Though why he decided to wear armor instead of a simple long coat and a mask, I don't know!" Hughes shrugged with a somewhat whimsical expression.

"Eh!" Al quickly waved his hands around. "It's because…I love armor! You know me! I wanted to go medieval!"

"Yup!" Ed scratched the back of his head. "My brother's a weirdo!" He then fixed his gaze at Hughes for forcing them to continue the inquiry.

Al glared at Ed. "Brother!"

"Anyways…" Hughes spoke up in an attempt to get the conversion off of Al. "So, you're all going to NERV I take it?"

"Um…" Shinji said before he was quickly interrupted.

"You bet!" Kensuke said eagerly. His eyes glistened with the possibilities. "I will…"

"Just us two." Ed answered, interrupting Kensuke. "Besides, these two would like to see pictures of your daughter. Isn't that right?" Ed grinned at Touji and Kensuke.

"Huh?" Touji and Kensuke stared at Ed with confusion.

Hughes's eyes lit up. "Really?" He wrapped an arm around Touji's and Kensuke's neck. "Then you are both in for a treat!"

"Ehhh…that's great but I think we…" Touji said, as he looked to the side unsure.

"How about the swimsuit edition!" Hughes took out a picture of Elysia wearing a swimsuit. "Oh doesn't this just look so adorable?"

Kensuke and Touji gave a shaky smile. They of course agreed to what he said, for fear of what else Hughes might do to them. "Yes Mister…ummm…"

"Hughes!" Hughes gave a big smile. "But that's not all!" He reached into his coat and took out a few more photos.

Ed grabbed Shinji's hand and sprinted out of that area. "Now's our chance to ditch those two."

"Huh?" Shinji gasped out shocked by the sudden turn of events.

"Bye brother!" Al waved his arms, a little thickly than before given the new addition.

"Bye Al!" Ed said without turning back. Both Ed and Shinji continued on their way to NERV.

-Later…

NERV Headquarters – Eva Cage

Shinji completed another round of activation test. So far, there doesn't seem to be any problems concerning his activation. For one, there has been a noticeable increase in the sync ratio. Though as these tests became more routine, Shinji found he had a lot of time to think. Right now, his mind was set on trying to unlock the mystery that was Rei. _'What is it about her? Why is she always alone?'_ Shinji thought as he looked up from the Eva controls.

Rei getting out of her entry plug caught his eyes. He zoomed in with his view screen to get a better view. His eyes widened as his father walked up to her, and she eagerly got off of her Eva and seemed to be smiling…SMILING at his father. Shinji has never seen her smile before! Both seemed to be talking quite casually as well. Though Shinji couldn't hear what they were saying at his distance, given the back and forth they appeared to be doing, they seem to be in the midst of lively discussion. It was certainly more than he has ever had with Rei or his father. His mouth started to quiver at the sight.

Outside of the Eva, and on the gangway above the Eva Cage, Ed and Armstrong were both leaning on the side, watching the two Evas during the activation test. Officially, it was to see what possibilities alchemy could present to the Evas. Unofficially, they were bored out of their minds and they had hoped that this would give them some entertainment. Though if they were hoping to alleviate their boredom, they were sorely disappointed given that the Evas did not need to move during an activation test.

Ed sighed and sank to the ground. "Some test that was! Don't they have any live action test or something? I mean how can they defeat the Angels if all they do is sit in their entry plugs and do nothing but 'sync' with them?"

"They have those 'computer simulators' for that Edward Elric." Armstrong commented as he looked down with a stern look in his eyes.

"Oh yeah those," Ed said as he remembered viewing one of those simulations. He was still amazed by how realistic that kind of training could be, without actually being out in the field. His first thoughts when he saw it were that it was some sort of movie with realistic special effects, and they simply had Shinji act along in order to get a feel for it. Then, when he noticed that Shinji could actually manipulate the situation, he knew that it had to do with something with the computer. _'Amazing piece of technology! However…'_ "Still, they may look real, but given that last Angel attack, it wasn't much help either!"

"Nothing is Edward Elric." Armstrong noted as he continued to peer down. "No matter how much training anyone does, it will never compare to the real thing."

"Yeah…" Ed said lazily. Suddenly, his eyes widened when he sees Rei talking to Gendo below him. "Hey check it out…"

Armstrong eyed Ed, and then followed his eye line to Rei and Gendo.

"First time I've seen Rei actually talk to someone!" Ed said, still a little stunned by what he was seeing.

Armstrong leaned forward a little more in order to get a better look. "Though it is hard to tell from way up here, it appears that they talking informally to one another and not just on official military business either! Something that you would not normally expect from the Commander."

"Yeah! He looks like he's talking to his daughter!" Ed said with a big smile that disappeared instantly when realization hit him. "HEY WAIT A SECOND!"

"Edward…" Armstrong stood up and eyed Edward.

"Hey Commander!" Edward yelled down into the NERV cage. "Why not some Fa…" Ed found a massive arm around his short body, and a hand covering his mouth.

"Edward Elric! We do not want to cause a disturbance!" Armstrong cautioned him. He removed his hand from Ed's mouth for a second.

"BUT THAT BAS…" Ed yelled before Armstrong shushed him with covering his mouth again.

"Edward Elric this is none of our business!" Armstrong yelled back at him. He was not seemingly looming over Ed at that moment, making Ed whither a bit. "I told you before, the Commander's relationship with the people around him should not be our concern! Our relationship with NERV and getting home cannot be jeopardized by something trivial as this. Do you understand?"

Ed lightly nodded. Armstrong noted that Ed's expression calmed down a bit as his eyes no longer appeared to hold the same fury that it held just a moment before. Seeing that he won't make another ruckus that they would all regret later, Armstrong put him down.

Ed lightly growled. "Maybe you're right. And it would be better if Shinji never gets to know that bastard. Then again, when the survival of this world relies on Shinji being ready and prepared to fight, and his father just so happens to be his Commander, he can't simply ignore him either! He already ran away once…"

"That is all true Edward." Armstrong said in a more understanding tone. "But we can't just meddle in the affairs others if they don't want it to be. Especially when someone like the Commander." Armstrong then paused as he thought of something. "At least, not in a way that could on be detrimental. You can't change someone's heart if all you do is criticize him for it."

"Yeah well, from what I can gather about the Commander, he's heart might be a little too solid to change, something even alchemy can't change." Ed narrowed his eyes. "Bah, why should I care? He could fall off the face of the Earth and the world will be a better place!"

"Edward! Careful what you say!" Armstrong glared at him. "And besides…" Armstrong looked down to see the two still talking to each other. "Even he isn't completely heartless. Just look at Rei Ayanami."

"Hmm. That's right. Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way…" Ed said with wonder. _'Maybe there is hope for that bastard then! If we can get Rei Ayanami to… Wait…' _His thoughts wondered towards his own father. He remembered the last time he saw him. He then imagined Shinji in his place and his frown and resolve deepened. _'Maybe it's better if Shinji never talked to him again. So what if he's the Commander? He has Misato and the Doctor… okay, scratch the Doctor, but Misato at least! And he could still get to know Rei better…speaking of Rei…' _He then turned to Armstrong and questioned him. "Speaking of Rei Ayanami, what do you know about her anyways?"

"Not much I'm afraid." Armstrong answered with frown. "Her past has been literally been wiped out by the NERV higher ups. I could gather absolutely nothing about her past."

"That's odd. Not even Shinji's record has been eradicated to that extent." Ed frowned as they of mystery that was Rei Ayanami deepens. "Does she have a guardian that we know of?" He then looked down to see her and the Commander. "Wait, you don't think that Rei is his daughter?"

Armstrong shook his head. "I don't think so. At least biologically. While I'm open to the possibility that the Commander is her guardian, they also look nothing a like."

"Hmm. The white skin and the red eyes kind of gave that away." Ed said as he rubbed his chin. "Then again, there is always the possibility of a recessive gene. But yes, they do look nothing alike…"

At that moment, tapping sounds were coming from the side. They all turned to see who was approaching them.

"Oh there you are Edward!" Misato smiled at the two. "Say Edward, after your teaching session with Shinji, you want to come over to my place for dinner tonight? It will be my treat! Of course, if you…"

"Go ahead Edward!" Armstrong said while flexing his muscles. "You can have the famous and delicious Armstrong Family's spinach casserole with Brussels sprouts substituting for Wendover roots another time!"

"Uh yeah…" Ed said a little green after hearing what Armstrong was planning on making. Ed then grinned at Misato's invitation. "Sure! Can't pass up free food can I?" _'Besides, I would like to see the look in Roy's face when I get to have dinner with the 'lovely' Misato!'_

Ed of course, was assuming that he was going to have food…

-Later…

Shinji's and Misato's Apartment

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Ed yelled at the one man he was hoping not to be seeing here.

Roy smiled and waved at him. "Having dinner with Captain Katsuragi, Shinji Ikari, and Doctor Ritsuko Akagi. What else would I be doing here?"

"Well, once he heard that I was coming over to Misato's for dinner, he sort of insisted." Ritsuko raised her hands as if she had no other choice. "I figured, why not? I'm sure Misato wouldn't mind."

"Naw!" Misato said from the kitchen. "More the merrier I say!"

Ed glared at Roy for a few moments before responding. "Really? What about a certain someone?"

Roy frowned at the person Ed was implying. "I'm sure she's doesn't have a problem with it! I mean it isn't like she cooks for me anyways."

-Meanwhile…

Roy's and Riza's Apartment

Riza was sitting at the small dining table that she shared with Roy. Next to her was a pot full of stew ready to be served, as well as two plates laid out on the table. The apartment was mostly silent with the exception of a ticking sounds coming from the analog clock hanging on the kitchen wall.

She began tapping her fingers on the table as the clock continues to tick away. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the clock again. "Where is he?" She said impatiently as the minutes continued to tick by.

Shinji's and Misato's Apartment

"You know Mustang, if you keep avoiding your wife like this, I can see some major problems down the road for you two!" Ritsuko playfully replied.

"She's not my…" Mustang stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Look, like I said, I'm sure she prefers eating alone. Now can we just drop this already?"

"Yeah sure!" Ed grinned. "But don't blame me if you're sleeping on the couch tonight!"

"Hahaha. Very funny Fullmetal." Roy mocked as he headed towards the dining room. "Besides, I've always slept on the couch since we moved in together." Roy murmured.

Ed was grinning after his teasing remark, when he came upon a strange creature in front of him.

The strange creature turned to him, looked straight ahead, and stared at Ed.

It took Ed two seconds to register that the creature was staring at his direction. After that, he jumped several steps back as he covered his face in fear. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING?"

"That…" Ritsuko said as she strolled in next to Ed. "Is PenPen. He is a bird."

"A bird?" Ed cautiously approached PenPen.

This time, Roy was grinning. "Don't worry Fullmetal. It won't bite."

"He's a type of bird called a penguin. He came from Antarctica. Or what's left of it anyways." Ritsuko noted as she watched Ed look at PenPen with curiosity. "As you can see, it can't fly. Instead, he has webbed feet, short and waterproof feathers, and their wings are designed not for flying, but for swimming. You can say he's well adapted for that environment."

"Yup!" Misato said in the kitchen. "I rescued him at the same time Second Impact occurred!"

"Interesting," Ed said as he slowly reached out to pet PenPen.

PenPen looked at Ed's hand with curiosity, before taking a bite.

Ed whipped his hand back out. "OW!" He glared at Roy. "I thought you said that he doesn't bite?"

Roy simply threw up his arms. "Guess I was wrong!"

Ed glared at Roy for a few moments, then back at PenPen who left to go fetch his food bowl. Seeing that there was no reason to stay mad at the thing, Ed continued on his way to the dining table.

"Hi Ed and Mister Mustang!" Shinji waved with the hand holding the ladle. The other one was being used to hold the pot full of something…brown.

"Hey Shinji!" Ed waved at Shinji before seating himself next to where he assumed Shinji would be sitting. "So, been practicing the drills I gave you?"

"Yeah…" Shinji trailed off slightly. "I mean, I can add a little more detail on my transmutated object but…well…it's just so hard!"

"I'm sure you will get it!" Ed reassured Shinji with a smile. "It just takes some practice! Besides, you've only just recently learned it!"

"That's correct Shinji." Roy sat on the opposite end of the table from where Shinji would eventually sit, and sitting right next to the area where Misato would eventually inhabit. "Even our best alchemists took days before they could even do their first transmutation when they first started learning alchemy."

"Yeah I guess…" Shinji said, still unsure about whether or not he will improve.

"And remember Shinji when you first came here?" Ritsuko said as she sat at the end of the table. "You were still able to defeat the Angel even without any prior training!"

"That's true…" Shinji said, again trailing off. He wasn't actually sure what happened during the first Angel attack. Only that, once he woke up in the hospital, everyone was praising him as some kind of hero. Well, except for Touji that is.

Misato peeked out from the doorway. She was wearing here typical home attire, which was very short shorts, and a very revealing tank top. "Everyone ready to eat?"

"You bet!" Ed happily said as he waited for the food to be served. He then looked at Misato's clothes, and his eyes nearly bulged out.

"Can't wait to eat a real meal without going to some restaurant!" Roy said with a half grin. He then leaned over to Ed and whispered. "Makes you want to be in Shinji's place doesn't it?"

Ed eyed Roy and frowned. Before he could say anything however, Ritsuko spoke up.

"Yup! I'm ready to eat Misato!" Ritsuko sighed as she watched Shinji was preparing himself to serve the contents of the pot he was holding.

"You're in luck!" Misato happily proclaimed as she carried out and placed the remaining food on the table. "Dinner is served!"

Roy and Ed both looked at Misato, and then tilted their heads to the 'food' that was on that table. Food that just so happened to be in disposable boxes.

"Did you say something about having a real meal Mustang?" Ed said as he continued to stare at the 'food'.

"Now this looks familiar." Roy noted with a stunned expression.

Ritsuko was also stunned by the display in front of her. She then took note into what was inside Shinji's pot that he was currently serving. "What is this?"

"It's curry!" Misato happily answered as she sat down next to Roy. She opened a can of beer and started to drink it.

"So, you're still eating this instant stuff." Ritsuko said with a deep frown.

Misato eyed Ritsuko with a frown of her own. "Look, you're a guest, so you've got no right to complain."

Roy stared back at his plate, deeply suspicious about the content in it. The only thing that he was sure of was the rice. The brown stuff that Shinji just served was a different matter. "Well, I am a guest so I shouldn't complain." _'And I'm still getting this for free!'_

"See? Roy here understands!" Misato happily smiled. "It's okay to call you Roy right?"

Roy grinned. "I have no problem with that!"

"Ahhhhhh…what a sweetie." Misato winked at Roy. "However, just so you know, I avoid…married men!"

Roy's face dropped as the other guest started giggling. "She…" Deciding to not bring up his usual complaint, he took a deep breath, and then sighed. "You're all enjoying this aren't you?"

"Oops!" Misato gave a phony look of being caught. "Was it that obvious?"

"Umm…Misato?" Shinji spoke up before the others could continue to torture Roy. "Here Misato…" He held the pot in front her. He looked at her plate that, unlike the others, did not have rice on it.

"Huh?" Misato looked up to see Shinji. "Oh, here." She uncovered a cup of instant ramen noodles. She flipped back the top to reveal the noodles. "Here, put all of that into this!"

Shinji was amazed at this. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, don't you know how good this is?" Misato innocently replied.

"Okay…" Shinji said, still unsure about this. He poured some of the curry over Misato's noodles.

"Ordinary curry flavored instant ramen can't compare to this!" Misato said as she waited for Shinji to finish pouring it in. "Let's eat!" She smiled as she stirred her noodles, that was not thickly covered with the sauce. "The trick it to put less hot water in the soup."

Roy looked at that in wonder. _'Hmm. Maybe I should try that sometime.' _He then looked at the noodles Misato was eating, and his resolve disappeared. _'Or not.'_

Ritsuko, Shinji, Ed, and Roy, slowly brought the spoonful of 'curry' and rice into their mouths. The taste that went through their tongues…was far from pleasant.

"This taste isn't quite familiar." Roy said as he gagged.

"You sure this is curry?" Ed chocked out. "I remember it being edible."

"It would be if Misato didn't cook it." Ritsuko said, who also gagged.

"What was that Ritsuko?" Misato said between chews.

"I said, you must have cooked it right?" Ritsuko said a little clearer from before.

"That's right!" Misato answered as she swallowed her noodles. "Oh, can you tell?"

"Yes, by its taste. How can she make something ready-to-eat meals so awful?" Ritsuko said, resulting in Misato's eyebrow twitching. She then picked up her beer. "Next time, you invite me when it's Shinji's turn to cook."

Roy looked down at his uneaten meal. However, given the taste, he had no desire to continue it. He too, was also stunned that someone could actually screw up instant food. Especially since even HE could make it! As he pondered this, he faced Misato to soak in her beauty. _'If I had to sacrifice a good dinner for someone as beautiful as Misato, lifetime of instant ramen wouldn't be that bad! As long as I cook it of course!'_

**Plop!**

Shinji looked at the doorway as he heard what he assumed to be PenPen falling over. _'Looks like he can't handle the cooking either!'_

Ed continued to stare at his uneaten dinner. _'You know what; Armstrong's cooking doesn't look so bad anymore.' _He then turned to Shinji. "So, you cook Shinji?"

"Um…yeah. Only on certain days…" Shinji said hesitantly.

'_I'm assuming those are the days when something that can be legally consumed are made too.' _Ed thought as he looked at the meal. Then, something popped up in his head. "You know, in a way, if you let me go into teacher mode for a second, you can say alchemy is like cooking!"

"Ooooooooo! The teacher and the apprentice!" Misato teased slightly red in the face due to the beer that was now starting to take effect.

"Shut up Misato!" Ritsuko glared at her. Though not really angry at her, she was still annoyed by her antics right now. She then turned back to Edward. "You may continue now Ed."

"Well, as I was saying…alchemy is a lot like cooking. Having the right ingredients is only part of the equation. The other part is doing it correctly. You can make something wonderful with it or…" Ed looked down at his meal. "Something completely disastrous."

Misato growled. "You don't know have to rub it in you know!"

Ignoring Misato, Ritsuko added her owns thoughts to it. "Correct. It is true in general science as well. The line between something wonderful like clean energy, or something entirely devastating and destructive likes the Atomic Bomb, all depends on the person behind it."

"Yup!" Ed smiled at that analogy. "And as we know, alchemy can be very destructive if done incorrectly. So, to be really good at it, takes time and practice. One day, I'm sure you're going to be a great alchemist!"

"That's true…" Shinji noted. "But the Angels…"

"Can't do anything about that!" Ed said. "But that doesn't mean you should rush things through either. Especially true if you intend to use them against the Angels. If so many lives at stake, if you can't do it right, don't do it at all."

"And don't worry." Roy half smiled at Shinji. "We'll help you in anyway we can."

"Okay…" Shinji quietly said.

"Blah, blah, blah." Misato rolled her eyes. Don't you guys have anything more interesting to say? I'm sure Shinji is encouraged enough already. Can't we talk about something else?"

Ritsuko eyed Misato, and then turned her attention back to Shinji. "Shinji, you ought to move. You really shouldn't let one bad roommate ruin your entire life."

"I'm used to it now." Shinji quietly replied.

"He's right Ritsuko. Never underestimate the ability of the human animal to adapt to its environment." Misato slightly slurred as she twirled her empty can around. "And anyways, if he does move…" Misato stopped as she noted her empty beer can. "Shinji, why don't you bring me another one, please?"

"Right," Shinji got up and went to the kitchen.

"He's certainly well adapted." Roy noted as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yup!" Misato smiled before her expression turned a bit more serious. "Anyways, if he does move, he's going to have to go through a lot of trouble and red tape. He just got his permanent security card, you know."

Shinji returned with beer in hand.

'_Permanent Security Card? Oh wait!' _"Oh! I almost forgot! Shinji, would you do me a favor?" Ritsuko reached into her handbag.

"What is it?" Shinji asked as Misato quickly took the beer in his hand.

"Rei Ayanami's renewal card. I keep forgetting to give this to her. Would you mind delivering it before you go to headquarters?" Ritsuko asked. "Edward could accompany you for protection if you think you need it!"

"Sure."

"Protection?" Ed raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see." Ritsuko said cryptically.

Misato was drinking her beer when he noted that Shinji was looking at the security card intensely. "What's the matter? You're staring at Rei's picture, aren't you?"

"No!" Shinji quickly denied.

"Oh! I think you are, Shinji!" Misato continued to tease.

"Especially since he was looking at her in class today!" Ed joined in.

"Not you too!" Shinji cowered a bit.

"Oh, oh come on! You're embarrassed, aren't you?" Misato winked at Ed. "Well, you've got an official excuse to go to Rei's place now. This is your chance isn't it?"

"Maybe ask her out on date…" Ed made faces at that comment.

"Hehehe!" Misato giggled. "Not bad Ed!"

"Wouldn't hurt you Shinji!" Roy grinned, joining in on the fun. _'Though I'm not sure about Rei though. When I met her… Maybe Shinji could help her be more open! That would be good.'_

Ritsuko simply watched the proceedings with beer in hand. Taking a drink every so often.

"Grrrr!" Shinji dropped down to the floor. "Stop teasing me!"

Misato leered at Shinji with a grin. "But I love teasing you. You always go ballistic!"

"Just like Misato." Ritsuko noted, causing Misato to instantly narrow her eyes at her.

"We're just playing around!" Ed said, trying to reassure Shinji. "No hard feelings!"

Shinji sighed. "Yeah I guess. I just find it strange that I know so little about Ayanami, even though we are both Eva pilots."

"She's a nice girl, but she's like your father. She's not very adept at…" Ritsuko trailed off.

"Not adept at what?" Shinji asked as he raised an eyebrow to that statement.

"Living," Ritsuko finished.

"Like his father huh? Talk about an understatement." Ed commented.

"Oh come on," Ritsuko turned to Ed. "Once you get to know the Commander, he isn't that bad."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Misato mumbled.

* * *

-------End of Chapter 10 

Sorry for the lateness on getting this chapter up. First, my plan to write a lot during Winter Break backfired on me. Yup! I am writing more…more as in more updates AND more stories! And this with two stories in semi-On Hold status! Now that Teen Titans (yes, that Teen Titans) has been showing new episodes, the idea of an FMA/Teen Titans story popped into my head. Unlike this one though, it will be more comedy and less serious for obvious reasons (it will also be based on the manga version, rather than the anime). Second, with GitS 2nd Gig on, that too has been brought me with another crossover idea…GitS/Eva crossover! I'm also thinking about bringing my GitS/TT story out of hiatus if, as I sort of suspect, will give me more inspiration to continue that story. And that is over the updates that I intend to do as well like my Love Hina story, and possibly even start another update for "Unfortunate…". Funny, I thought that would be my premiere Eva story before I did this one (granted, maybe it still is…for a PURE Eva story. Then again, there is "Valliant Shinji"…oh yeah, need to start the next chapter for that story too…that's like FOUR updates/stories on plate. AHHHHHHHHHHH!).

Despite that, given that it is the holidays, and my extreme laziness (plus other obligations), that too hindered writing this update as well (well, all of them come to think of it). And that is also why you don't see much progress on my promised revisions of the previous chapter. Don't worry, I WILL do them! Eventually. Just that, well, don't expect them to be done by the end of the year. :-P

Now, believe it or not, this chapter WAS supposed to be longer! And keep in mind, this is also AFTER I cut down on the Author's Notes! I originally wanted to finish up to what would be Episode 5, when the Angel attacks. But given how long it was just to get to this point, I've decided to hold off the rest until the next chapter. This also means that I am going through the series somewhat slower then I expected (if only because these chapters are getting longer then I thought). Though it should speed up once I get to the Episode 7 timeframe (after all, that episode was pretty much filler, and I don't see the FMA group being that important there).

Oh, and this chapter also has tons of 'unoriginality' in that I took a lot of the dialogue and concepts, almost word for word, from the actual episode. I did it mainly because I'm lazy. :-P That, and sometimes I felt that the original wording, was just as good to what I would have said. Hopefully, doesn't detract from the overall chapter (I did try to change things around so it shouldn't feel like a complete repeat. Hey, at least it isn't like the first three chapters of "Unfortunate…" :-P).

And before I forget, thanks to XOver for beta reading this chapter!

Next Chapter…Shinji meets, Rei, Angel attacks. What more do you want? Oh, and something happens in the FMA world. Until then, later!


	11. Showdown in NERV!

-OKAY, I might get tons of complaints for it, so I'll head them off. The last part of this chapter has NOT been betaed. Errors in the rest of the story I'll also take responsibility since I know I'm not the best writer in the world, grammar or story telling wise. However, the last part might be worse given that I haven't gotten the chapter back from my beta reader.

-Chapter 11 of FME

-OMG I UPDATED! Um, whoa, been 8 months since I last updated! Longest so far of this story going without an update! SOOOOORRRRRRRY about that but, well, real life got in the way. Mainly, school work. This wasn't unique to this story by the way, for it affected all my stories. With, what I had hope was more time (which turned out not to be), here is Chapter 11!

-I'll try to keep these Author's Notes short since I know many of you have waited for an update this long. First, I have now reworked Chapter 3, 4 and 5. The most significant changes I believe have been seen in Chapter 4 in that I changed Major Armstrong's rank from "Junior Lieutenant" to "Warrant Officer". Chapter 5 is also where I changed it so that it would finally be correct chronologically. Though a sort of cheaters way of doing it since all I said was that Ed was going to be there for 3 weeks before going to school. Now, for the rest of the chapters, I'll get to them eventually but, well, I told you these changes would happen slowly!

-To the recent reviewer, well, one of the reasons why this fic up at Mediaminer is 'behind' is due to the fact that there, it is getting the 'revised' version first so that I don't have to go back and change it again (well, that is supposing that I don't revise it once again to fix another set of errors, which I might do anyways) which of course, is taking a while. Second, there is a rank of Junior Lieutenant, just that it was not used correctly in this fic, nor will it be used from now on since I changed Armstrong's rank to Warrant Officer (and why the previous chapters are being revised). As for Warren or Warrant, I think I saw it spelled the first way on some FMA site, and this is why I've spelled it that way till now. My new beta reader corrected it to the 'correct' spelling. As for Ensign? I know it is used primarily in the Navy. At the same time, I'm not sure if it was something that was exclusive to it either (not to mention what NERV used as a ranking system etc.). Until I see a reason to, I'll leave him as Ensign for the time being. Grammar? Well, that's why I have a beta reader though even then, I know I still have a stuff to work on.

-Without further ado, on with the long delayed update!

Rei's Apartment

"You really didn't have to come." Shinji said to Ed as they walked up the weathered and cracked streets towards Rei's Apartment. "I could've done it myself."

"Nah! It's no big deal!" Ed waved him off. "It isn't like I have anything better to do at this hour." He then glared at Roy, who was walking beside him and the disintegrating curbside. "Though why the 'Second Lieutenant' is here is something I like to know!"

"Save it Fullmetal." Roy said in a condescending tone. His coat was a little ruffled, and his hair was also a little messy. It appeared that he wasn't able to get a good nights rest last night. "It isn't like I have anything better to do at this hour either! Besides, it's better than spending time at the apartment."

"Really?" Ed gave a mischievous grin. "What happened? Your 'wife' not too happy?"

"Don't want to talk about it." Roy quickly said as his frown deepened. "Women can be so complicated some times." He said in a low voice.

"What?" Ed said in a near yell. "Can you speak up Mustang? I can't exactly hear you with all this banging going on."

"Come to think of it…" Roy scanned the area in slight bemusement. "Hey Shinji, are you sure you got the address right?"

Shinji nodded. "This is the address that they gave me." He looked around the half empty and half demolished buildings. They appeared to have all been built before Second Impact occurred, and survived the chaos that would soon follow. Though the term, 'survive' might be questionable given the current conditions of the apartment buildings. "Though I don't know why she would live in this area."

The blond midget scowled at the sight he was seeing. From what he could gather, one of these buildings must be Rei's. Unless there was one building that was magically in tip top condition of the bunch, something that wasn't apparent here, he could already guess the what her living conditions must be like. "How can she sleep with all this construction going on around here? And she's supposed to be the Commander's favorite right?"

"If this is how he treats to someone he likes, what about someone he doesn't like?" Roy said in wonder as he looked down at Shinji. _'Maybe this wasn't so bad for Shinji after all?' _

Shinji wondered that too. He looked up at the nearby building and saw the number. "Well, this should be the building."

Ed and Roy both looked at the building in front of them. Like the others, it was in very poor condition. The hallway was dark, and none of the lights were working. There was trash everywhere on the ground, with the only apparent occupant of the building being the rats that raced from corner to corner.

'_This is no place for anyone.' _Roy's face frowned in disgust. His already low opinion of the Commander dropped even further.

"It should be on the forth floor." Shinji said as he led the group to the elevator. He pushed the button a few times. And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"I have a feeling the lift isn't working." Ed noted, as even the sound associated with the movement of an elevator was absent.

"I'm not even sure if it will ever work given the condition of this place." Roy noted.

"Well, I guess that means we have to take the stairs." Shinji said and quickly followed through.

As they got the fourth floor, they looked down the hallway from side to side. On one hand, they would have to admit that this place was probably pretty safe for Rei to live in since, no right minded criminal would dare hide in a place like this. Much less attack the few residences that might call this place home, including a poor blue haired girl here. On the other hand, the poor state of the buildings would have made any attack by a mugger seem mute in comparison. Surviving here meant hoping that these buildings do not collapse under its own decrepit state.

The group finally approached apartment number 402; past the garbage that no one cared to remove from the hallway. As they looked at the door, they noted that there seemed to be semblance of life in this mostly abandoned building, given the lack of dirt on the doorknob and the semi-clean envelopes bursting from the mailbox. Apparently, there was still a mailman brave enough to enter this structure.

After noting the state of the apartment doorway, Shinji pressed the doorbell button. Nothing. It appeared, like the elevator, it wasn't working. Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Shinji decided to knock lightly. No answer.

Ed and Roy looked on in disgust. _'Not even a working doorbell! This just keeps getting better and better!'_

"I guess I should try the door…" Shinji said as he turned the knob.

"Um, are you sure that's a good idea?" Ed said as he watched Shinji turn the knob. "I mean, what if she's in the shower or something? Besides, it should be…"

The door creaked open as Shinji got it open.

"Locked." Ed finished in disbelief.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Shinji said as he stepped into the darkened apartment.

Ed and Roy looked at each other, and than peered inside the darkened apartment. Both deciding that it was better to stay out here.

"Give us a yell if you need any help!" Ed waved at him.

"Yeah." Shinji said as he disappeared into the apartment.

"That way if he gets in trouble, we won't be involved." Ed added once he was sure that Shinji was beyond hearing range.

"With friends like you, who needs enemies?" Roy grinned at Ed.

"I don't see you running in do I?" Ed glared at Roy.

"Young girl, unlocked door, three boys, it won't look so good for the 'adult' in the group when criminal charges are issued." Roy added as he raised his hands over his shoulders. "Better to send in the sacrificial lamb in then be torn apart by wolves!"

After he finished, a yelped reverberated from the other side of the door, bringing the attention of both Roy and Ed.

"Sounds like Shinji." Ed noted.

"Should we go help him?" Roy said as he reluctantly peered into the room.

"What would NERV do to us if there is a problem with its pilots?"

After a few seconds of contemplating this, both Roy and Ed rushed into the apartment. "We're here to the rescue!" Both screamed at the same time.

They all skidded to stop when they noticed a few things. First, they saw Shinji standing next to a drawer, with top shelf on the ground. Panties and bras were scattered everywhere, as well as a dirty looking towel on the floor. It appeared that Shinji was trying to avoid something or someone. As they followed Shinji's eye line, that someone apparently was Rei Ayanami. The blue headed girl standing next to him.

Naked.

Shinji looked up at the two 'rescuers' in front of him. "Um…"

Both Roy and Ed stared at Rei's naked back for a second, before frantically turning their backs from her as they cautiously moved next to Shinji. Beads of sweat dripped down their faces as they both thought how incredibly bad their current situation was right now.

Ed, knowing who was the cause of this, sent his fist crashing down onto Shinji's head.

"Ow!" Shinji grabbed his head as he felt the throbbing pain emitting from there.

"You idiot! How dare you try to molest Miss Ayanami!" Ed growled at Shinji.

"I'm sorry! But I did not…" A sweating Shinji weakly replied.

"Police are not going to like this. Isn't it like a minimum of 15 years?" Roy added as he glared down at Shinji.

"I didn't do anything!" Shinji practically yelled back in his defense. "I mean, she just caught me by surprise…"

All the while, the blue-headed girl calmly got up, took her clothes that were made on the bed, and started dressing herself. She completely ignored the commotion that was happening behind her.

"Oh please. And who was it that broke into her apartment?" Ed said in a condescending tone, with his arms crossed.

"It wasn't like any of you tried to stop me!" Shinji retorted.

"Well… why should we? It wasn't like you listened to us anyways." Roy said in his best stern voice he could come up with, which sounded like a weak retort than anything else.

Shinji opened his mouth when he suddenly heard the door slamming shut behind him. "Huh?"

All three boys focused their attention at the currently closed front door. All realized that the current resident of this apartment had just left, without even saying a word to them. Either they are in deep trouble and she was heading off towards the police… or, she simply doesn't care about their current situation. Thinking back, Roy would have to say it was the latter given her blasé attitude towards everything really.

Roy surveyed the darkened room that he was standing in. It was mostly sparse, and at the same time, extremely dirty. There were envelopes and papers scattered everywhere on the floor and on the counter. Why a girl like Rei would have so many in the first place was a mystery to him. After all, NERV pays for all her bills right?

Rei's other possession seemed to consist of a bag of groceries hanging from the refrigerator, a cup of water on top of said fridge, along with medicine bottles, an empty pitcher, and extra set of bandages. A box of discarded bandages lay next to the refrigerator. She also has a standard drawer, with a set of schoolbooks on top of it. Her bed consisted of a blood stained pillow, and a simple un-decorative blanket, and very dirty looking sheet. Next to the bed was a box filled with who knows what, and a lone chair sitting silently in middle of the room. The walls weren't much to look at either since they did not even have the wallpaper or plaster found in better apartments that would have hidden the fact that they were made of concrete.

Roy returned his attention to the pills and bandages on top of the refrigerator. _'She suffered through all this alone.' _Roy frowned at the thought. "This is no place for anyone!"

"Yeah." Ed replied as a deep frown appeared on his face. "We need to get her out of this place."

"I guess you're right." Shinji nodded as he too took in the sight. "It must be kind of lonely for her here. But you'll have to take it up with… my father at NERV. Shinji said with a sadden frown. He still held a very deep animosity towards his father. Suddenly, realization dawned on Shinji as he felt around in his pockets. "… oh!" Shinji took out Rei Ayanami's card. "I forgot to give her card!"

"Well she's going there already right?" Ed said as he edged his way to the front door. "It shouldn't be too hard to find her."

-Later…

Streets of Tokyo 3

"There she is!" Ed said as he pointed to Rei on the semi-busy street. Unfortunately, she was on the other side of the street. They now have to wait for the light to change before they can cross. "Just as I thought. She must take that train station in order to get to NERV. Once the light changes, you're going to apologize, and give it to her!"

"Um, I don't know…" Shinji said in an unsure tone. He looked Rei's security card for a moment, before looking back at the disappearing image of Rei. "I mean, she will be at NERV anyways so… why not just apologize and hand the card to her there?"

"What?" Ed said in a frown. "Wouldn't it be better to just apologize and give it to her now?"

"Um, I guess…" Shinji reluctantly answered.

"Runts right." Roy said as he patted Shinji on the shoulder. "Should be better to get this over with. You know, before she tells someone important about this little misfortune! Like Doctor Akagi, or Commander Ikari… Remember to be very detailed like the fact that I tried to stop you from molesting her!"

"I was not…" Shinji attempted to speak out before Roy covered his face.

"Now now now!" Roy gave a shaky smile. "Don't want others to get the wrong impression!"

Ed narrowed his eyes at Roy. "I see you're deeply concerned about Shinji's well being." Ed said in a sarcastic tone.

"Why of course I am!" Roy said, frowning slightly at the accusation tone in Ed's voice. Granted, it wasn't entirely wrong, but still… "You don't want to get in trouble now do you?" He removed his hand from Shinji's mouth. "Now, what are you going to say to Miss Ayanami?"

Shinji gave a shaky look towards Roy. "Um, that the light just turned and we should be walking now?" Shinji quickly said to Roy, hoping not to get on his bad side.

"What?" Roy raised an eyebrow at the strange response. "What does… oh." He quickly whipped his head to the streetlight and noticed it was flashing the walk symbol.

"Come on!" Ed said as he nearly panicked. The red hand symbol was now flashing. "We have to catch Rei! My life might depend on it!"

"Um, your life? Aren't you…HEY!" Shinji started when Ed violently grabbed his arm and dragged him across the street.

"You heard the boy! Let's go!" Roy said as he rushed past both Ed and Shinji towards the subway station.

"Hey!" Ed gritted his teeth at his arrogant superior. "You can't do anything without Shinji birdbrain!"

"What have I gotten myself into?" Shinji said despondently.

-Later…

NERV Headquarters Security Gates

Rei was standing in front of the security gate, scanning her card into the machine. Instead of the white arrow allowing entrance however, the red blocking symbol lit up instead. This was odd for Rei since she was working for NERV, and her card worked before. So she did it again, and again, and again. Still, the gate refused to open.

Shinji, slightly out of breath, had finally caught up to the girl. As he looked up, he was now staring at the scene of Rei doing the same motion over and over again. "Um…"

Ed narrowed his eyes, and impatiently elbowed Shinji. "Eh hem!"

A startled Shinji jumped a bit. "Huh? Oh yeah…" Shinji reached into his pocket and took out her key card. He went to the stall next to Rei's, who was still trying to use her old card, and slid her new card in for her. Rei looked at the new card, and then at Shinji when he finally responded. "Um, this is your new card. Ritsuko asked me to deliver this to you."

"Uh hem!" Roy grunted out behind Shinji.

"Oh! And I'm…" Before Shinji could finish his apology however, Rei ripped her card from Shinji's hand, and walked through the open gate. "Eh…"

Roy slapped his forehead. He took a deep sigh before he spoke. "Follow after her Shinji." He then looked at his new watch that NERV gave him. Well, more like forcibly sold him. The amount of money it cost, plus a ten percent 'service fee', was deducted from his paycheck in order to pay for his new watch. It wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of things he'd suppose, if it wasn't for the fact that that amount of money that was deducted for the watch, came at the same time they decided to deduct the other stuff that NERV was so kind in offering him. Mainly, all the clothes he would have to use in this world. And given the amount NERV was paying for him, he had the nasty surprise of discovering that he was starting his new life, in debt. _'We're supposed to be the ones saving the world. And we're paid this much?' _But enough about that… back to the present. "I have to check in first with Doctor Akagi. I don't want her bites my head off again for being late. Maybe even discuss Miss Ayanami's living situation. Until then… if anyone ask, I wasn't a part of this!"

"Pdddt! Yeah sure whatever." Ed waved Roy away. "I'll make sure your ass is saved from the fire." A mischievous smile appeared on his face after his speech. _'Heh. Yeah right! If it comes to that, I'm going to make sure you take the full blunt of the punishment! Hehehe.'_

Shinji was too focused on wanting to apologize to Rei and so, did not comment on Roy leaving. Instead, Shinji simply continued on, scanned his security card through the machine, and waited for the gate to open. "Miss Ayanami! Wait!"

Ed followed suit in the next stall. _'Have to make sure Shinji doesn't chicken out of this!' _After watching Shinji run off following Rei inside, the gate to his stall finally opened and he was also off chasing after them. _'I had my fill of jails cells. I certainly don't want to see another one!'_

Escalators

Ed followed Shinji closely as he waited for him to do, well, anything for Rei. After a few seconds of silence that was grating at Ed's nerves, he carefully leaned in close to Shinji's ear. "Shinji…"

"Huh? Oh, um, I'm sorry." Shinji quickly said to Rei.

"About what?" Rei responded.

Ed's mouth fell to the ground upon hearing Rei's response. He could only stare in amazement at the girl's uncaring attitude towards, well, anything around her. Including herself apparently. _'Didn't that incident faze her at all? I mean if I did that to Winry…' _Ed shivered at the thought of what Winry would do to him.

"Um, eh…" Shinji was thinking the same thing at the situation. _'She doesn't care?' _" Um, I meant the…" Suddenly, he felt a sudden jab to his back.

"Hehehe. Um…" Ed whispered in Shinji's ear. "If she doesn't care about that incident, um, let's not dwell on it shall we?"

"Um, okay?" Shinji whispered back before refocusing his attention back to Rei. There was something he wanted to ask her concerning today's experiment. "Aren't you going to have a re-activation experiment today?" He said and then waited for a response from Rei. After a few seconds of not receiving a response, he continued. "Say, aren't you scared? Aren't you afraid of piloting Unit 00?"

"Why?" Rei quietly replied.

Shinji blinked amazed at that answer. _'Why? You're not scared? But you were…' _"I heard that you were hurt pretty badly in an earlier experiment so I thought you might be…"

"Aren't you Commander Ikari's son?" Rei said, cutting off Shinji.

"Yeah." Shinji replied with a bit of a frown.

"Don't you have faith in your own father's work?" Rei questioned.

A scowl appeared on his forehead. "Of course not! How could I trust him?"

'_Neither would I if he was my father.' _Ed thought with a scowl. _'Hell, I feel the same way with my own father!'_

Suddenly, at that moment, Rei turned around, took a step forward and leaned in close to Shinji. Their faces now only inches apart.

Shinji was confused about this sudden action. It didn't help matters that her face was now mere inches from his, resulting in a very faint blush to spread across his cheeks. "What?"

After a second of the two just standing there, Rei brought up hand up and **SLAPPED** Shinji across the cheek.

The sound caused Ed to take a step back. "Ah."

After her slap, Rei turned her back to Shinji and waited for the escalator to reach its destination.

Hallway

Shinji was still nursing his cheek as he watched Rei off to the female locker room. For obvious reasons, well, he didn't follow her in there.

Ed however, wasn't really paying much attention to his surroundings. Well, beyond following Shinji around at least. If Shinji were to follow Rei into the female locker room, he might have actually done it given that his mind was on the certain incident that occurred on the steps of the escalator. Mainly, they were going back to Rei slapping Shinji. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed to him. As much as it pained him to admit this, Rei did have her reasoning to slapping Shinji. Finally snapping out of this trance, Ed peered up and notice what Shinji was doing.

Shinji was staring at the female locker room door, with a bit of confusion flashed across his eyes.

Ed smiled a bit before he spoke up. "Don't dwell on it too much!" Ed said, snapping Shinji out of his stupor. "I mean she did have her reasons for slapping you! Remember that your father I mean, Commander Ikari did save her." Ed said before the smile faded from his lips. "Even if the Commander doesn't do that to anyone else!" He added grudgingly added before continuing. "I'm sure that if she sees the what the Commander is really like, she would see it your way!"

Shinji blinked a few times at Ed, before lightly shaking his head. "That's… not it. It isn't that she likes my father that I'm bothered about." Shinji then looked sadly at the locker room door. "It's that, she… isn't even a bit scared about the activation test. It's like she… I don't know. Like… she doesn't care about her own… life I guess."

Ed dropped his head. "Yeah. I felt that way too when she said it." _'What was it that Ritsuko said about Rei? Like the Commander, she's not very adapt at living?'_

-Later…

Testing Room

"…0.3, 0.2, 0.1 and rising. Borderline clear. Unit 00 has been activated." Maya's voice rang out throughout the facility.

Ritsuko, Commander Ikari, and Kozou in the observation room that over looked the testing area. Through the window, they could see Unit 00 strapped to the wall of the structure. The orange Eva stood silently as if it was asleep. Obviously, this test appeared to be heading on the right track compared to the previous test that went horrible wrong at this stage.

"Roger. Beginning interlock test." Rei relayed inside Unit 00. For all appearances, she was calm and in control at the helm.

In the hallway next to the testing area, stood Shinji, Ed, Misato, Roy, and Armstrong. Shinji and Ed all peered through the window to see how the test was going. From their standpoint, it appeared to be going quite smoothly, if a bit boring. Which again, given what they have heard from the previous experiment, smoothly and a bit boring was a lot more preferable.

"It looks like we won't have a repeat of the last time." Ed noted as they started preparations of the next test.

Shinji gave a sigh of relief. "Yeah…"

Of course, now that Rei's test was out of the way, Roy wanted to voice the other issue that was on his mind. "Speaking of Rei Ayanami, we need to get her out of that apartment."

"Huh?" Misato raised an eyebrow to Roy's sudden outburst. "Oh, I guess you saw where she lives right? Yeah. I agree that she lives in a pretty crappy shithole. Though Rei Ayanami doesn't seem to mind living there."

"She doesn't mind a lot of stuff." Ed noted with a frown.

"Wait, she doesn't…" Roy started before catching himself. After all, Misato doesn't know about that little incident between Shinji and Rei this morning, she doesn't need to know about now eh? After Ed caught on to what Roy was thinking, Ed nodded in agreement. Roy sighed in relief knowing that he did not have to worry about that certain other issue. However, relief then turned to concern as it began to reinforce another aspect of Rei's personality in Roy's mind, her apparent complete lack of any self-preservation beliefs. "Well this is more reason why she needs to get out of there. She needs to be protected at all cost! And getting her out of that condemned building would be a start!"

Misato grinned at the last statements Roy made. "Protected at all cost? What, you don't think little Rei could take care of herself?"

"Eh?" Roy's breath caught in his throat. "Um, no!" Roy cleared his throat before continuing. "Nothing like that! It's just that, there's no reason why she should live alone at that age! And certain not with her attitude."

"Was her living conditions really that bad?" Armstrong asked, curious about this change of subject away from Rei's test.

"Bad? That would be an understatement." Ed said as he shivered as the memories returned from their little visit. "Her apartment makes me want to take another shower. And I already took two already!"

"I get what you mean." Misato nodded. "I'm surprised that the Commander would make her live in such conditions. And I also agree about her attitude. Though I just thought that it was due to her being anti-social."

"So it was the Commander that placed her in that place." Roy frowned deepened. "And she's his favorite?"

Shinji lowered his head and saddened bit after hearing Roy's comments.

Misato shrugged her shoulders. "Almost everything concerning Rei's well being go back to him. He's certainly the only one that Rei really talks to."

"Hmph." Roy sounded after hearing this. _'Why does the Commander want her to live in those conditions? It's like…' _Then a disturbing thought entered his mind. _'Wait maybe this is some sick way for him to disassociate Miss Ayanami from everyone else? Where she is living, she would certainly not get a lot of friends visiting. Much less, interacting with people not associated with NERV.' _A scowl appeared on his forehead. _'Or anyone besides the Commander.' _For a moment, he thought about voicing his theory on the situation. But seeing Shinji in the corner told him that this would not be the best time to do so."No matter the reason. We'll have to get her out of that apartment as soon as possible."

"That's very upright and wonderful of you Second Lieutenant." Misato said in a near mocking voice. "But where is she going to stay?" She then leaned back next to Roy. "Are youuuuuuuuu and your wife going to adopt Rei Ayanami?"

Roy gritted his teeth upon hearing the term… wife. Still, he had to admit, he hasn't thought up beyond that. "Um, well…" He quickly glanced at Armstrong and Ed for help. "Can you take her in?"

"I'd proudly take Rei Ayanami in Colonel!" Armstrong proudly raised his fist into the air. He then sheepishly dropped it. "But, we don't have any more room in our apartment."

"Hehehe." Ed lightly laughed as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "You see, Al's been buying up all these mangas and anime DVDs that, well, we had to use that extra room in order to store it all."

Roy then turned to Misato who just shook her head at the implications. "While it is possible for me to take her in, try convincing the Commander that I should have him."

Roy sighed in gloom as the only ready option appeared to him. "Very well, I'll see if I can take her in." He then glared at where Commander Ikari was currently positioned. "I'm sure I can convince him that it would be the best for her." _'But the other issue… the… wife…'_

"So, you're really going to take in Rei?" Shinji asked with a bit of wonder.

"I'll like to see that." Misato grinned at the idea.

Roy's mouth flew open, but before he could speak…

A voice rang out through the speakers. "Activation test stopped. Going to level one alert!"

"Level one alert?" Misato repeated. "An Angel? Now?"

"Looks like I'll have to save this till after the Angel is dealt with then." Roy said as the siren began sounding.

"Shinji Ikari, please suit up and report to the Eva Cage immediately!" Ritsuko's voice rang out in the hallway.

"You heard the women Shinji! Get to it!" Misato yelled.

"Yes!" Shinji said as his body went rigid. He then trotted his way to the locker room to begin his preparations.

"So they are not going to use Rei for this test?" Ed noted as he only heard Shinji's name called out.

"She shouldn't be ready yet." Armstrong noted as he peered into the darkening room that Unit 00 was currently held.

"Hmm." Ed nodded. "There are a lot of things I don't like about the Commander's decisions. But for whatever the reason, I think this is the right one."

-Later…

Eva Cage

"Release confirmed." Shinji said as he watched his screen confirm the lock released. As he peered outside his cockpit interface, he saw Rei Ayanami. She seemed to stare back at him from the walkway overlooking Unit 01. He was bit awed at her appearance there.

Command Center

"Roger." The longhaired Shigeru confirmed as he stared at his computer screen. His screen too, confirmed that the locks on Unit 01 have been removed.

"Removing secondary restraints." Makoto said as he released the locks with the commands from his computer.

"Roger." Misato said in a near monotone voice. So far, everything appeared to be going as routine as possible, and in turn, nothing to get too excited about. Hopefully defeating the Angel would also be this routine.

And speaking of the Angel… Armstrong decided now was the best time to bring up that very subject. He turned to Ed and Roy who, like himself, were all given permission to watch the action from the command center by their superior, Ritsuko. After all, where else could they continue their research than on the deck of the command center? Well, other than testing a sample in the lab that was still being constructed at NERV. The next best thing they could do was to watch the action from here to see if there they could discover the best way alchemy could be used against an Angel. Granted, they still weren't sure of the pilots could transfer alchemy into the Evas yet, but better prepared now than later right?

"So, Edward, what are your feelings about using the Angels as the ingredient in making a Philosopher's Stone?" Armstrong questioned to the shorter alchemist.

"What's there to think about?" Ed answered with a shrug. "They are monsters that need to be destroyed. Why not use them for a better purpose?"

'_Hmph.' _Roy thought bitterly. _'Better purpose huh? From what I have read of the stories about the Philosopher's Stone, better isn't exactly the term I would use.'_

"But are they really monsters Edward?" Armstrong said as he continued to probe the subject further. "After all, they do have our DNA right?"

"Yeah… that did give me pause." Ed grudgingly nodded in agreement. "But…"

"The target is now intruding into Lake Ashino airspace." Makoto yelled out as said target came into view of a nearby camera. The image was broadcast through the main viewing screen.

Ed quickly pointed to the bizarre looking Angel on the screen. "IT'S TWO FREAKING FLOATING PYRAMID SMASHED INTO EACH OTHER!" Ed yelled with all his might, jumping up for added effect. He was obviously worked up over this. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE CAN EVER THINK THAT IS ANYTHING LIKE US!"

"Yup! Got a point there!" Ritsuko added before her smile faded a bit. "It's too bad we didn't have more time." Ritsuko commented as she glared at the Angel. "We could have our first live Angel experiment to work with!"

"That wouldn't be a smart idea even with a bit more time." Ed said, obviously a lot calmer now after his mini-outburst. "I haven't exactly got to work on the dead Angel parts yet. Much less grasped the notion of biological transmutation. And this is all supposing Shinji keeps up with his alchemy studies, and can somehow transfer it to the Evangelion."

Ritsuko sighed after Ed's explanation. "Yeah, I guess that was too much to hope for at this stage."

"Eva Unit 01 is ready for launch." Shigeru said, interrupting all other conversation in the area.

"Launch!" Misato ordered out.

The bridge crew watched the monitor as it followed Unit 01's journey through the tube and towards the city's surface.

Suddenly, Shigeru noticed an anomaly coming from the Angel. And it didn't look good. "We're detecting a high energy reaction from inside the target!" Shigeru yelled out as he read the data in front of him.

"What!" Misato whipped her head towards Shigeru in horror.

"It's accelerating, and massing upon itself!" Shigeru continued at this sudden turn of events.

Ritsuko's eyes widened considerably at this news. "Is it possible?"

They could only watch helplessly as the final doors opened up, and Unit 01 was now on the surface of the city, in the direct path of the Angel.

"No, dodge it!" Misato yelled at the comlink. She could only watch helplessly as Unit 01 was now point blank in the Angel's attack range.

"Huh?" Shinji said through the comlink before a massive blast approached Unit 01 from the Angel.

"This can't be good." Roy noted as a blinding light flashed across the Angel.

"Oh no!" Ed said as his face contorted in horror.

"Shinji!" Misato screamed into the comlink.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shinji screamed back in agony. His screaming echoed throughout the comlink.

Ed eyes quivered in horror at what he was seeing. "Get him out… Get him out of there!"

"Yes… YES! Retrieve him!" Misato frantically yelled at the crew.

The elevator platform that the Eva Unit 01 was standing on began sinking into the ground. The Angel's blast followed the Eva down to the surface before Unit 01 fully disappeared. After Unit 01 cleared the surface, the Angel stopped firing off its high energy blast instantly.

Ed could only quiver at the sight that he just witnessed. "What… how…"

Roy was also staring at the scene in total shock. "It, it didn't even give Shinji a chance to react!"

Ritsuko crushed the pen that she was holding. "Damn it!"

"The target has gone silent!" Aoba relayed as he looked at the screen.

Misato knelt down behind Makoto since he was the one monitoring his vital signs. "How's Shinji!"

Makoto examined the data. He made a mental sigh before answering Misato. "He's alive."

"Unit 01 has been recovered! Send it to the 7th cage." Maya said behind them.

Misato ran to the small elevator on the bridge's deck. She spun around and stared at Ritsuko. "I'm going to the cage too. Take over for me, please!" She clicked the button, and descended into the lower depths of the structure.

Ritsuko rubbed her forehead. "Shit."

Ed looked back at where the elevator platform used to be. "I… I should go the cage to make sure Shinji is alright as well!" Ed ran up to where the hole was and was about to jump down it.

"You do realize that that hole is over two hundred feet right?" Ritsuko said without turning back to see him. "If you're really lucky, you can break your fall by landing on Misato. Supposing that you don't kill her in the process."

Ed was mere inches from dropping in when he heard that. His eyes widened about his sudden rash movement, and how he nearly ended his 'short' young life. "Um… hehehe." Ed slowly backed away from the hole.

Makoto furred his brow as he watched as the waves on the computer screen increased and decreased in size rapidly. "The pilots brainwave are extreme erratic!" Makoto relayed. "His cardiac readings are very weak."

"Increase the power to life support. Give him a heart message." Ritsuko ordered.

"Roger!" Maya said as she typed in the commands to do just that.

The three alchemists could only sit back and watch as the frantic scene played out in front of them. In front of the main monitor lay an image of Shinji unconscious inside the entry plug. He was suddenly jolted from the sudden shock that was given him by Maya, and, thankfully, a few errant bubbles escaped his mouth.

Roy gave a quick glace over to Ritsuko. _'This is one of those times that I'm glad__I'm not in command.'_

Ed unconsciously shut his fist as his frustrations threatened to over take him. He hated being unable to do something… ANYTHING for Shinji, or to fight the octahedral shaped Angel that had caused him to be in that position. _'There has to be something I can do!'_

"Pulse confirmed!" Makoto immediately said as he saw the pulse meter jump to life.

'_Good. Now to get him out of there!' _Ritsuko shot her head towards Maya. "Force ejection the entry plug! Hurry!"

On the monitor, they see the entry plug spin out of the Eva's neck with the sirens lights going on behind it.

"Emergency LCL discharge!"

"Roger." Maya complied.

Liquid began spewing out of the entry plug. After the liquid emptied out, the hatched opened revealing an unconscious Shinji. The only sign of life coming from him was the continued response from the heart monitor. A number of NERV personal rushed up to the entry plug and moved Shinji to a specially constructed gurney that they had brought in. All the while, Misato watched the motionless child anxiously.

Ritsuko took a big sigh and collapsed into the chair behind her. She rested her forehead as she tried to calm her nerves down after what had just transpired.

"So what now?" Roy said with a frown. _'I'd be damn if it ends here!'_

After Shinji was transferred out of the plug, a number of the monitors switched over to the cameras that were monitoring the Angel. The Angel suddenly stopped above a certain area, and released what appeared to be a long rod with a spiral coil going up it. As it reached the ground, its purpose became apparent.

Ritsuko frowned at the on going crisis around her before she answered him. "We wait." Ritsuko said as she spun around fully towards Roy. "That's all we can do for now."

Roy frowned. _'I see. And if Shinji doesn't recover…' _His thoughts immediately turned to Rei.

Ritsuko then turned to Ed who was growling in frustration. "If you want to see Shinji, I'll allow it. But I don't suggest it."

Ed snapped out his downhearted spirit and turned to the fake blond with a questioning glance. "Huh?"

"That is what you want to do right?" Ristuko said.

"Well, umm…" Ed said as he was still recovering from the fact that he was being spoke to. "I…"

"Well I suggest you don't go see him right away." Ritsuko crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "If Shinji pulls out of this one…" She stopped as she contemplated her next words carefully. Before Ritsuko could speak up again however…

"And what of the Angel?" Armstrong noted as now all the computer monitors were focused on it.

"That…" Ritsuko glanced back at the Angel. "Is why we wait."

Ed's eyes widened as he realized what Ritsuko was implying. "Wait, you're not thinking…"

"Well what else do you suggest?" Ritsuko said as she raised her hands in defeat. "You could send out Rei Ayanami. But you know the problems with that idea right?" She watched as the three alchemists nodded in agreement. "She is considered our backup for a reason. Shinji is still the better trained of the two and so it would be wise to wait to see if he recovers well enough in the next few hours to fight."

"But what if you have to send out both of them?" Armstrong said. "This Angel appears to be a more formidable opponent then the others that you have encountered."

"If it comes to that, than it would be imperative that Shinji recovers." Ritsuko said nonchalantly. "Though in that case… Shinji would still be the main attacker with Rei as the back up." Ritsuko made a deep sigh before continuing. "Of course all this is mute at the moment if we can't figure out how we can get close to it." Ritsuko leaned her head back and stared at the metallic ceiling above her. Which if they can't stop the Angel from drilling any further, will be home to a large hole, and possibly, the end of the world as they knew it. "That, I'll wait for Misato to decide."

-Later…

Misato wearily entered the room. Emotionally drained by the condition of the current pilot, sat down next to Ritsuko. "I'm taking command again."

"So…" Ed said as he sat upright in his chair. "How's Shinji doing?"

Misato lowered her head. "The good news is, it seems that he is in good condition. They found no injuries on him. Right now he's… resting. The bad news…" Misato looked up at the monitor. "We have that to deal with! And if Shinji awakes…"

Ed frowned. "I understand. He'll be sent right back out, no questions asked."

"Not quite." Misato replied. "As you all know, we still have Rei. But I'm also sure that you know why we don't want her out at the moment."

"That is correct." Roy said as he continued to watch the Angel drill. "And what about us?"

"Well, I'm sure none of you want to be simply spectators through right?" Misato said as she looked up at the monitor. "First, we'll do a few test to see what the Angel's behavior and range of attack is. Than I want opinions on how we can defeat that it!"

"Why Misato, asking for help?" Ritsuko grinned. "That is so unlike you."

Misato frowned at Ritsuko's insinuation. "Shove it Ritsuko. We all have a goal here and that is to defeat this Angel." Misato then grinned at her. "And yes, I probably don't need their help. Still, given that they are now involved, and of course, under NERV's payroll, they should be doing more in this world than just watching." She then turned to the three alchemists. "Right boys?"

"Yes ma'am!" All three alchemists said in unison, none hoping to instigate the purple haired woman's wrath.

"Good." Misato said as she turned to the monitor. "Now to begin the test!"

-Later…

The test consisted of trying to figure out the Angel's range and reaction time to a number of objects. It was also meant to see what the Angel would react to. The first test here consisted of launching a life sized balloon decoy of Unit 01 from a ship floating in the nearby bay.

"I would just love to see the face of Hughes' daughter if I brought that to her next birthday party." Roy said in an amused tone as he stared at the monitor.

"You're assuming that we get back in time to attend it." Armstrong noted behind him.

"I see no reason why I shouldn't think that." Roy said with a smirk. _'Besides, we all wish that.'_

As the decoy raised it's arm and pointed it's fake gun at the Angel, a bright light came across the edge of the it, and shot a think beam at the decoy, disintegrating it into nothing.

"The enemy's accelerated particle beam has hit the balloon!" Shigeru said. His words sound through the facilities' intercom.

"Next." Misato said quickly. She had no reason to stop and assess the fact that, no surprise, the Angel destroyed it quickly.

As they watched the monitor, a train rolls out of a tunnel near a coastal region some distance away from the Angel. In one of the cars, a type 12 mortar artillery unit moved into place, in direct sight of the Angel.

"Looks like they have the same type of weapons we have in our world." Armstrong noted as he recalled the many mechanical weapons that were developed recently for the Amestris military.

"Yeah." Ed said as he crossed his arms. "Makes you wonder how closely our worlds would have developed if we never developed alchemy."

The mortar filed a single powerful mortar round towards the Angel. Instead of hitting the Angel, the blast was ricocheted off what appeared to be an energy shield. After the mortar sped off into what was probably another area of Japan causing some unfortunate collateral damage, a sudden bright light appeared, and the artillery unit was instantly vaporized in an Earth shaking explosion!

"The type 12 mortar has been vaporized." Shigeru relayed after the smoke cleared from the rubble.

"I see." Misato answered. She then turned back to the alchemists. "Follow me."

-later…

NERV Headquarters – Second Analysis Room

The alchemists followed Misato into a darkened room somewhere in the center of NERV Headquarters. Only the computer screens and the thin lines in the floor were the only things keeping this room from descending into complete darkness. Along side the walls were computer terminals where the technical staff were currently stationed. As Misato took her chair that was in the middle of the room, Makoto stood rigidly next to Misato and began to relay the information that they had collected so far.

"From the data we've collected, we're assuming that the Angel automatically attacks any opponent within range." Makoto said as he stared at the monitor. "Anything that entering that range will be targeted. It's too risky for close range combat in an Eva, isn't it?"

"It didn't even give Shinji enough time to react." Roy said as he rubbed his chin.

"Correct." Misato said as she sat back in her chair. "Of course that doesn't tell me how to defeat it." She added as a frown appeared on her face as she was trying to figure out how to defeat this Angel. "What's its status of its AT Field?"

"It's still active." Makoto answered as he replayed the video of the mortar round deflecting off the Angel's shield. "It's strong enough that the spatial changes in phase are visible. Using conventional attacks, guided missiles, artillery, bombs will inflict more damage on us than on the Angel!"

"Not to mention the fact that no conventional weapons can penetrate an AT Field anyways." Ed added.

"Yes." Misato sighed. "They weren't serious options to begin with. Which means that offensively and defensively it's almost perfect. A flying fortress." She then eyed Ed. "So how do you defeat that flying fortress?"

"Um…hey, why are you looking at me?" Ed said defensively as he backed up a little. He then noted Misato and Roy's grins. He scrolled his forehead as he realized what they were thinking. Hoping not to 'empower' their egos any further, he stood upright and answered her very carefully. "Besides… um, what are our options?"

Misato smirked. "Alright." She then turned to her right and looked at one of the technicians. "What's the status on the drill?"

"At this moment the target is directly above us, penetrating the Tokyo 3 Null Zone." The Technician said. A map of the city was displayed on the screen that showed where the Angel was situated.

A second screen should an image of what appeared to be the drill as he slowly sank into the first brown band. "A giant shielded drill with a diameter of 17.5 meters is boring towards NERV HQ." A second NERV technician continued.

"The enemy is going to directly attack NERV Headquarters directly." Makoto followed.

"Sassy Bastard!" Misato said with indignation. " What's its ETA?"

"06:54 AM, just after midnight." Shigeru said from his station. "By that time, it will breach all twenty-two levels of armor, and compromise NERV Headquarters itself."

"Less than 10 hours…" Misato relayed to the alchemist.

"Doesn't give us a lot of time." Roy said.

"It'll have to do for now." Misato said.

"The drill has contacted its first armor plate." Shigeru said from his station.

Misato turned to her left and spoke. "What's the condition of Unit 01?"

"The defensive armor was melted down to the third layer." Ritsuko said through the intercom. A monitor switched to what was happening in Cage 7 where it focused on Unit 01's armor replacement passing by two smaller figures on the gangway, Maya and Ritsuko. "The good news is that the central control unit sustained no damage."

"Three more seconds, and it would have burned right through the Eva." Maya commented on.

"It will take three hours to install replacement parts." Ritsuko followed as she took a sip from her coffee.

"Roger." Misato said as she turned to her left again before talking to Ritsuko and Maya again. "What's the status of Unit 00?"

"Re-activation sequence itself should prove no problem, but there's still a feedback error." Maya said as she examined the data on a piece of paper.

"Right So it wouldn't…" Ritsuko started.

"…survive combat." Misato said disheartened.

"Wait, it won't survive combat?" Ed said in a slightly irritated tone. "Well that means Rei can't be used as the main even if Shinji doesn't pull through. Unless…"

"No." Misato said, cutting off Ed. "We haven't done a sync compatibility test yet. We don't know what effects it would do for Rei or Shinji if they switched Evas. Remember, these are not your normal 'machines'."

Ed sighed. "Great. Now what are we left with?"

"Hold on before you count all our eggs out." Misato said before she boomed another order. "What's the condition of Unit 01's pilot?"

"No physical damage. However, his nerve pulses are up by 0.8 percent. Still within acceptable limits." A NERV technician said behind her.

"Enemy arrival: nine hours, fifty five minutes." Another NERV technical said.

"Well, looks like he can fight." Ed said reluctantly.

Misato nodded. "It may not seem like it, but this was the best situation for all of us. At least better given using Unit 00 is not an option." She then looked up at the monitor that followed the drill's progress. "But what good will that do us if we can't get close to it?" She swiveled her chair in order to stare at the alchemists behind her. "Any suggestions at this point?"

"Supposing that we could use our alchemy…" Armstrong started. Sparkles seemed to surround him, despite the fact that his decided to keep his shirt on for once. "Using the technique passed down the Armstrong line for generations…" He made a fist in front of him to emphasis the point. "If Unit 01 could send one of those skyscrapers hurtling towards it, it could easily take down that monster in a second."

Ed eyed Armstrong skeptically. "First of all, that is supposing that bio-machine can even use alchemy in the first place."

"Besides…" Misato cut in with a highly amused expression. "As much fun as I would like to see Unit 01 use your type of alchemy, there is an issue of whether or not it will be enough power to penetrate the Angel's AT Field. That and Ed also have the point in that we would be attempting to do something that is, at best, a theory."

"Since close combat fighting is a no go…" Roy said as a face of Riza flashed before him, sending shivers down his spine. "Than the only thing I can suggest would be to snipe the Angel with a very large long range weapon. You don't suppose you have something like that lying around here?"

The purple haired woman grinned. "That's what I was planning all along! And while we don't have such a weapon lying around here, I know exactly where to find it! All I need is to get approval for this…"

"Heh." Roy eyed Misato. "So, you were thinking that all along have you? So we're still spectators than."

"Not quite." A new voice entered the room, causing everyone to tense up immediately.

Misato immediately rose to her feet at the sight of the man that most of NERV feared. "Com…Commander Ikari? Well um, we have almost everything under control. I just have a plan that…"

Gendo waved off Misato. "I'll allow it. It appeared that offensively, our options are limited."

"Right." Misato nodded.

"However…" Gendo eyed the alchemists one by one. A dark smile spread across his face. "Defensively is another matter entirely."

"Permission to speak sir?" The Flame Alchemist said as he looked wearily at Gendo.

"Permission granted." Gendo said, his smile never leaving him. "And this goes for all three alchemists."

"Very well…" Roy started. "If you don't mind me asking what exactly you're implying. Pilot Ikari in Unit 01 would be too busy trying to snipe the Angel from a distance offensively. With any luck, he shouldn't have to worry about defense. One shot one kill correct?"

"Correct." Gendo replied. "However, I never said anything about Unit 01."

Armstrong's eyes widened. "Wait… you're not thinking…"

"Every beginning sniper needs a spotter right?" Gendo smirked. "Or in the case of Pilot Ikari, someone to act as a shield if the Angel were to fire back."

"Wait!" Ed spoke up slightly incensed. Though he was now used to the fact that Gendo referred to his son as not Shinji, but 'Pilot Ikari', it still grated his nerves. Not to mention what he was proposing was nearly preposterous. "You can't expect us to believe that Rei Ayanami can learn alchemy, and use it when…" He suddenly stopped himself as he sees said blue haired pilot standing next to him.

"Why not?" Gendo said. "Isn't she the best way to test whether or not Evas are even capable of using alchemy?" He then eyed a countdown clock that was displayed on one of the computer monitors. "You now have nine hours and fifty minutes to teach her Ensign Elric."

-Later…

NERV Testing Room

"Okay, that's the basics." Ed said to the timid First Child.

The alchemists, Misato, Ritsuko, and Gendo stood in a room illuminated by a single florescent light. With in this room were four metallic chairs, and a smooth metallic table, which other than a few scratches on the surface, was unscathed from its trip from some furniture store on the surface, to this room many kilometers, underground Tokyo 3.

"Understood." Rei said in her normal quiet tone.

Ed gave a short smile before lightly shaking his head. He then dangerously glared at Gendo who was standing right behind him. "However, I'd like to voice my objection if you don't mind."

"Go ahead Ensign." Gendo said in a near passive tone, barely acknowledging that Ed was more than just a tool to use.

The short blond crossed his arms as he tried to look as intimidating as he can be in front of him. Ed did not exactly a success given that appearing intimidating to someone where he would have to literally look up to in order to give eye contact with. Despite everything he wanted to say to the 'Commander', Ed wisely kept to the basics in the hopes that even someone as arrogant and prideful as him. "Shinji proved that people on this world could use alchemy. But it took him a few weeks to transmute anything worthwhile. What you want out of Miss Ayanami in less than seven hours now is ludicrous."

"I note your objection. But the fate of humanity rest on what we will do." Gendo said in a low near threatening tone. "All I'm doing is opening up options that we could use against the Angels."

Ed's mouth began to quiver. "Is that all? Or do you simply want to ensure your preferred pilot doesn't fall behind against your son?"

"Edward Elric!" Ritsuko vociferated. "This is not the time…"

Gendo raised a hand toward Ritsuko, stopping her in her tracks. "Hold on Doctor Akagi, I'm sure Ensign Elric was just stressed about the recent events. Correct?" He said down to the hotheaded shorter kid.

"Stressed?" Ed's eyebrow began to twitch as the 'Commander' was belittling him. "I'll show you…"

"Ugh." Roy covered his eyes at the scene. "Doesn't he…"

"Excuse me…" A quiet voice spoke up, causing all the parties to stop. "Is this how you do it Ensign Elric?"

"Eh?" Ed said as he, along with the other occupants of this small room, slowly turned towards Rei.

The girl, standing over a transmutation circle where the metallic chairs and table used to preside. Instead, in Rei's hand was a well-designed spear that just so happened to be completely metallic. The blade was smoothed and appeared to be completely polished as it shimmered slightly from the single source of light in the room. The metallic handle itself was another amazing feat as it was grooved in order to give the user a better handling to the holder.

Even Ritsuko couldn't help but be flabbergasted by the sight in front of her. She knew Rei seemed to easily pick up techniques and skills (besides social skills at least). But to be this good for a 'science' that never existed on this world before?

And the alchemists weren't prepared for what they saw either. In all his years in the military, Roy and Armstrong have never seen someone able to pick up alchemy this fast. Even Ed, who was said to be a quite gifted alchemist, took months or even a few years to do what Rei had just done.

All the while, Gendo's smirk never left him. "Begin phase two of the experiment!"

-------End of Chapter 11

I originally intended this chapter to be a bit longer. But given how late this chapter is… I'll stop it at this point before I continue. Still works as a cut off. Just wish I had more time to write and make it longer.

In terms of grammar concerns like the proper use of 'alchemist', to make it clear to my beta readers, and me this is what I'll use.

Group alchemists

Single alchemist

No capitalization of the letters.

Thanks to QuickSilber for the beta reader. Though I did not get the last bit in time before my self-imposed deadline of this month, I still thank him for betaing this for me. And again, all mistakes are mine (and issues like too much or too little detail, mine too).

Next Chapter… Will alchemy work with the Evangelions? And what are the consequences of using it? Until then, later!


	12. Of Alchemy and Evas

-1-ZOMG! It's been a while hasn't it? 

-Sorry, this unfortunate thing called real life took me away for a while. That and other stories that desperately needed to be updated (and to think, this story isn't as bad in the update department as my other fics. Which is sad).

-Anyways, I'll again try to keep these AN's short, but chances are, they might wind up being longer than I hope (which I know, besides my bad grammar and story telling skills, long ANs are something most of you hate). I'll keep all the story related issues at the end of this chapter. Right now…

-At the moment, I do not have a beta reader. I know I had one before, but well, since I'm not all that fast of an updater on my side (at least for this story), I'm pretty sure I lost him as such. So, I guess it is now an open position, in case anyone wants to fill in that role… in the mean time, all corrections will be handled by me, and I'll make sure to take extra precautions for such.

-Also, one reviewer noted that it was kind of cliched and possibly OOC to have Al reading/watching mangas/anime. To an extent I agree but, at the time, I couldn't figure out another way to have Al spend all his extra free time until Ed goes full force on his research. Al's problem of course is the fact that he is just a suit of armor (I mean, he stands out in his own world. Eva? Big time). Now that time is near, you'll see Al join Ed in his research a lot more, and hopefully more towards a better characterization.

-And one LAST thing, after reading and catching up on the manga, I'm now certain that I will combine both elements in the manga and anime. Anime takes priority, but some ideas from the manga might pop up here and there.

-Without another word…

Roy and Riza's Apartment

"Damn it! Another Angel!" Riza threw the remote at the TV. Which was currently broadcasting another Emergency News Broadcast. "Why couldn't it had happen just one day later…"

Suddenly, a sharp musical tone began playing on the coffee table. Said sound came from a slim black cell phone that was currently resting next to her Glock 22 pistol.

Riza blinked questioningly at the phone before tentatively picking it up. She was certainly not used to the ringer that, played music before. All the phones that she had grown accustomed to all had the same 'bell' ringer. Instead, this one played, what appeared to be classical music. Other phones she encountered played music that was, more 'modern' she assumed, even one that she recognized as the opening music for one of her favorite shows. However, she was too intimidated to try and fiddle with her phone to change it.

She was also not accustomed to a phone that did not have a dial. All the phones back in Amestris were either rotary phones, or the 'older' ones that connected directly to an operator. Instead, this one had small buttons that substituted for the dial. Speaking of size, something as small as this new object. A phone that could literally fit inside your pocket.

As she picked up the object, she noted that the display simply read 'Nerv'. Another unusual thing to her since, these are pretty much the only phones she's aware of that actually 'tells' you who was on the other line. To an extent granted.

Putting her surprise and wonder aside, she knew something was off when it displayed 'Nerv'. Normally, if this was protected line, Nerv would not be displayed. Heck, if her phone was not programmed by Nerv itself, it would probably have displayed another location, or an entirely different organization. As it were, this call was coming from an unprotected line. And she knew only one moron who would use said line to call her. She pushed the talk button and placed the phone to her ear. "What do you want 'honey'?" She said, with the last words spoken with much contempt.

"Um… eh…" Roy stuttered out before finally answering. "I just want to give you the heads up that the power will be cut for a time. Sometime between 11:30 PM and tomorrow morning." Roy nervously replied. "So um, prepare for that."

"Power outage?" Riza blinked before her eyes narrowed. "Why's that?"

"It's… Nerv's way of trying to defeat that Angel." Roy said.

"Why would that cut the power? And are you sure you're supposed to be telling me this?" Riza frowned at her 'superior's' seemingly lack of foresight.

"Let's just say that, what Captain Misato is planning, requires a lot of energy." Roy continued. "And um, in a few hours, everyone would know about it anyways. It isn't like I exposed anything that the general public won't know anyways."

"Captain 'Misato' is it?" Riza said as her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, Captain Misato. What about her?" Roy said, as he felt he was missing something.

"Never mind." Riza shook her head as a headache threatened to take hold of her. "Is there anything else I should be aware of? After all, what you just said, I would've found out in a few hours anyways right?"

Mustang coughed on the other side of the line. An apparent effort to clear his throat. "Well the real thing I wanted to talk about was… um… there is this issue that is coming up and um… uh… well, never mind. I'll tell you later." Roy said in a happy sing song voice. "Bye!"

"Mustang? What is it? Mustang?" Riza heard a sharp click. "MUSTANG!!!"

Nerv Headquarters

Roy, Ed, and Armstrong all stared at the massive weapon parts that were currently under construction in the hanger. They peered down a balcony that was over looking the hanger. From all appearances, it appeared to all be regular sniper rifle parts, which were currently under construction by the Technology Department Division 3, Nerv Headquarters… blown up a thousand times. Granted, people on the ground probably do not feel the same sense of scale that they have on the balcony. Massive cables, large metallic pieces that look like shipping containers on the ground, large pipes, and so on were strewn all over the ground.

"Just imagine if Hawkeye saw that." Roy said, his eyes wide. "Probably ask to be an Eva pilot, and if that didn't work, kidnap and impersonate one of them just for this mission."

"Not before Winry examines every single part in this room first…" Ed said blinking at the sheer scale of it all. Not to mention the amount of technical know how that probably went into producing something of this scale.

"If this was developed by an Armstrong, it would have made any of us proud!" Armstrong said, wiping a tear away.

Roy and Ed stared at Armstrong with disbelief.

"Guess it's a good thing they didn't." Ed said.

"Eh hem." Armstrong coughed into his fist. "With all things considered, if this does not beat that monster, nothing will."

"And we'd all die in this world without anyone on our own knowing what really happened to us." Roy said with a frown.

"All of Japan has been given the notice." Misato said walking up behind them. "And we got all this for the cannon, and the largest network of power cables to power it in such short notice." Misato proudly stated.

"You know, I have to admit…" Ed said as he stared off into another part of the room. "I'm impressed you could accomplish all this in less than a day. Heck, less than nine hours."

"Guess there is a certain urgency to the matter when the whole world is at stake." Misato smiled before her expression darkened. "Though we are just a bit behind schedule last I heard. But we should still have enough time to take down that Angel."

"And are you sure this weapon will be enough to take it down?" Roy said as he waved his arms around the room of massive pieces.

"Of course!" Misato raised her right index finger. "According to the Magi, we have around an eight point seven percent chance of succeeding."

"Eight… PERCENT?" Roy, Ed, and Armstrong cried in shocked in unison.

"Eight point SEVEN percent." Misato corrected. "Keep in mind, those are pretty good odds coming from the Magi. You should have seen what they thought of our odds were during the first two Angel attacks…"

Ed lowered his head. "Why do I get the feeling it's going to be like this for the rest of our stay here?"

"So, what about the other aspect of the plan?" Roy said, changing the subject a bit. "Mainly, the pilots."

"Well…" Misato lowered her eyes a bit. "Rei was able to transport the SDF's positron cannon here without incident. So, in terms of her moving into position with her Eva, it should be fine. Shinji though… he… still hasn't woken up yet. He should soon though."

"For the sake of this world…" Ed shook his head sadly. "He has to."

"Of course this still leaves the question about whether or not he will even fight." Armstrong said in a questioning manner. He slammed his fist together. "If only he was raised as an Armstrong…"

Images of Shinji having massive muscles and ripping off his shirt flashed before Misato. Causing a chill to course through her spine. "Ooooo. That, might have been a good thing… him not being raised by… you. As for him fighting? Oh, I'm sure he will. He… seems to pull through for us right when we need him." Misato eyes shifted to the side. "And we still have time. Last I heard, the drill has just penetrated the eighth defensive layer. It still has seven more layers to go."

"That's um, really reassuring." Edward said as he rolled his eyes. True, eight… well, seven layers of protection was still something. However, given how fast it was going through the layers, it did not mollify the tense feeling around here either.

"Hmph." Roy sounded. Though his mind began wondering towards the other pilot in the matter. Especially a few mysteries about the girl that still bothered him. Well, mysteries besides the fact that the Commander was having her live in probably the most dangerous place in the city. '_From what little info I can gather, Rei Ayanami had spent most of her life at Nerv. Her family is a complete mystery besides the fact that her real parents are apparently 'dead'. Here at Nerv, she seemed to be completely isolated from everyone given her attitude and personality. Everyone except the ever caring Commander himself. Nerv was created with the intention of fighting these Angels, so they knew confrontation with these monsters was going to happen. Right? But how? And how did Rei Ayanami somehow become the 'first' child pilot to begin with? Are the criteria to become a pilot really that stringent? And that 'training accident' certainly would not have helped build up the case that she was 'qualified'. What exactly is going on here?' _Roy contemplated as he frowned.

Edward eyed Roy who appeared to be lost in thought. "Something on your mind Second Lieutenant?"

"Huh?" Roy said as he blinked as Ed's voice intruded on his thoughts. "Oh um…" Roy crossed his arms and appeared to harden. "I was just thinking about what our next move should be. Well, at least what we should do if this 'fails'."

"For the most part, there isn't much anyone here can do if they fail since, chances are, we'll be all dead. Heheheh…" Misato tentatively laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "But we did put in some redundancy measures just in case the on-site alchemy test failed."

"Redundancy measures?" Edward said with an eyebrow raised.

Misato nodded. "Yup. Though… I'll let Ritsuko take over here. You can find her in Hanger 8."

-Later…

Hanger 8, Nerv Heardquarters

"So you want to know about our defensive measures right?" The blond doctor said as she took a sip from her coffee. She, along with Maya and the alchemist, were standing on a metallic walkway just as a robotic arm moved slowly next to them. "Well, just turn to your right, and it's right here!" Like a magician exposing the girl that disappeared next to him (or her in this case), she gave a single wave of her hand at the huge object next to her.

Ed, Armstrong, and Roy all turned to the huge triangular black object that was hanging next to them beyond the railing. As they continued to stare at it, only one thing came to their mind.

What the one thing was, was spoken by none other than the shortest member of their group. "What is that thing?"

"That…" Ritsuko said with a huge smile. As if she was somehow proud of showing off this, thing to the 'other worlders'. "This, is a shield."

"Oh." Ed said as his eyes narrowed in disbelief. "So, the only thing the great Doctor Ritsuko can think of as a 'back up' in case Shinji's first attack fails, or that using our alchemy failed with the Evas is… a shield."

The dyed blond woman's smile faded as she stared daggers at Edward. "Well using a shield is about the only thing we can do at this point. We're talking about a VERY high energy beam being directed towards the Evas."

"And this shield…" Maya verbally pointed out, "was a hand-me-down from a single stage surface to orbit rocket. In other words, the space shuttle."

All three alchemist took on the role of looking dumbfounded again.

Maya blinked confused by their bizarre reaction. "Was it something I said?"

Ritsuko sighed. "Think of it as a ship that was designed to leave Earth's atmosphere. Above the Earth's atmosphere is empty space. Now, think of the atmosphere as the ocean. On the surface, the water pressure is shallow and not as significant. As you go deeper into the ocean, water pressure itself will increase as the 'weight' of the ocean above you increases.

Back to the atmosphere, the same could be said as the top layer of the atmosphere are made up of light gasses. The deeper you go, heavy gasses like oxygen and carbon dioxide reside. Given the concentration of the gasses that make up the Earth's atmosphere at each layer, the angle and the speed required to reenter it safely will result in a lot of resistance, creating heat and friction the deeper it penetrates the atmosphere." Ritsuko took out her clipboard to show what she meant. She first held her clipboard vertically. "Too steep the angle and it will go through the Earth's atmosphere at a very high speed and is impossible to slow down before you hit the Earth's surface." She then angled the clipboard around 10 degree. "Too narrow, and it will skip the surface of the atmosphere like skipping rocks on a lake. Any of you tried that before?"

Armstrong nodded. "Yes. Instead of sinking right away, at the right angle, the rock will skip the surface before it sinks. Depending on your skill level, and the length and the size of the lake, you could possibly even make the rock skip to the other side."

"Well, the same principle applies to the Earth's atmosphere as well." Ritsuko added. "Of course, now we're back to his shield." Ritsuko angled her clipboard at around 45 degrees. "To slow down the decent and not bounce off the atmosphere, it has to be at the right angle, and has to survive the intense heat that will occur due to the resistance. After all, the atmosphere was designed to stop most outer space objects from reaching the Earth's surface. Ever seen those shooting stars? Without the atmosphere in place, those shooting stars, which are really rocks that have been traveling around the solar system, world have reached the surface, putting everyone in danger. Given that the speed they are traveling, it would be equivalent to a bullet being fired from a gun."

"I think I heard something like that in school." Ed said as he rubbed his chin. "Of course, that was in relationship to that so-called Second Impact…"

"Well, there are limits to what the atmosphere can't keep out." Ritsuko started to shift her eyes to the side. "A big meteor about the size of Tokyo 3 would do the trick. Not to mention an Angel… but let's get back to 'our shield'." Ritsuko quickly said as the conversation threatened to spiral into a long winded elementary lesson. Not something you want to get into when time was not on their side. "To summarize, in order for this vehicle to survive reentry from the intense heat that will occur, a special electromagnetic base coating was applied. This coating is designed to survive the heat so the occupants that would be in this ship, would survive all the way down to the Earth's surface."

"Well, then this should be a wise move on Nerv's part then." Roy nodded after hearing Ritsuko's long winded explanation. While he still had no clue about what this, Space Shuttle thing is, at least he now knows what this shield was. "And since in a way the Angel's attack was energy based, this should do the trick."

Ritsuko nodded. "For at least seventeen seconds."

A sudden eerie silence descended the room. As a sweat drop seemingly appeared on the back of all three alchemist.

"Seventeen… seconds?" Ed's eyebrow began to lightly twitch.

Ritsuko raised her hand in a disimpassioned way. "This is why we were hoping that Shinji succeeds with the first shot. And if alchemy does work, maybe we won't have to worry about this shield at all."

"That…" Roy said as he stared at the triangular black 'shield', "is a pretty big if."

-Later…

Hospital Waiting Area

After a short briefing with Misato, the alchemist were allowed to wait in the waiting area of the hospital. The waiting area was large and airy. Something none of them have seen before in the largest hospitals back in Central. However, despite it's size, the place was almost like a ghost town with the only occupants being the alchemist. The rows of chairs ahead and behind them all sat empty. A testament, they believed, to the continued depopulation of Tokyo 3 as the Angel crisis continued.

As they all waited for Shinji's prognosis, the alchemist passed the time by discussing the mission briefing.

"Operation Yashima is it?" A sitting Edward said as his arms were draped over his legs. "What's Yashima again?"

"An ancient name for this country as far as I know." Roy said as he leaned back on one of the pillars that dotted the waiting area. "Makes some sense I guess. Ya is part of yama which means mountain in their language, and shima means island…"

"If you don't mind Second Lieutenant, but I don't care about the etymology of the word." Ed closed his eyes for a second as it seemed the weight of the situation was getting to him. And he was no where near the positions of power, or on the frontlines to deal with it either. "I mean, at the moment, they haven't told us anything about Shinji's condition."

"Hmph." Armstrong nodded. "I'm concerned that we are again asking too much from Shinji Ikari. Even if he does wake up, we are somehow expecting him to be a marksman the first time he holds that massive weapon this organization is making. A few months ago, he had no clue what an Eva was, and how to move around in one."

"And it took years for Hawkeye to be the 'legendary sniper' she is today." Roy added. "Then again," Roy leaned away from the pillar and eyed Armstrong. "From the point Shinji Ikari entered that Evangelion, he has also defeated two angels and in essence, saved the city and possibly this world twice. For someone who had no formal training, you can almost call it a miracle of sorts."

"Yeah." Ed said as he straightened up his position. "With all these miracles happening, you'd think some divine force was watching his back."

"And you'd think these people would be more religious too." Roy said as he glanced at one of the doorway that lined the hospital's waiting area. For a second, he thought he saw something move behind the small window that resided on the door.

"Then again, if Nerv or whatever organization continues to call them 'Angels', most people probably think the trouble we're in is due to God." Ed countered as he shrugged his shoulders. "After all, of all the names that they could use, they used a term reserved for the 'messengers of God'. The general population is probably completely confused on whether God is trying to save them, or destroy them." Suddenly, following that line of thought, Ed was reminded about another potentially 'explosive' situation. "Speaking of facing the wrath from someone… how did your 'wife' take the news?"

"Eh?" Roy said stunned. "What news?"

"About you wanting to adopt the first child of course!" Ed said in a teasing manner.

"Oh that?" Roy said as he tried to recompose himself to appear as confident as he usually appeared. His right hand was holding the back of his head, and he puffed out his chest to make him appear as big as possible as he tried to speak in a coherent fashion. "Well, I… haven't told her!"

This answer amused Ed even more. A massive grin appeared on Ed's face as another opportunity to torment his 'arrogant' superior presented himself. "What? The great Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, can't handle a little girl? Too much of a woman for the womanizer?" Ed was trying to suppress a laugh that was threatening to escape. Since if he started, he'd have a hard time stopping.

Roy frowned and glared at Edward for a second, before sighing in defeat. "It isn't that! I mean, it isn't like I'm her superior officer anymore. She is, after all, just another civilian in this world."

"Hmm. I haven't seen you like this before Second Lieutenant. Why would your and Hawkeye's change in status stop you?" Armstrong asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not you too!" Roy growled at Armstrong before turning his head towards the door. "I mean, our position in this world is different now. A relationship between an officer and a civilian is also, different. I can't just order her around and expect her to follow orders. Besides, it isn't like I have decided to take this girl in or anything. I still need approval from you know who, and that is a big if given that he feels that putting her in a dangerous place is perfectly fine." Roy's eyes began turning away from the door when, speaking of said girl, the door swung open and revealed a mop of blue hair. "Huh?" He then darted towards the door and stared at the girl.

"Something wrong Mustang?" Armstrong said noticing his superior's odd behavior.

"Miss Ayanami?" Roy said, stopping the girl in her tracks.

Rei Ayanami paused for a few moments before she slowly turned her head towards the one addressing her. "Yes?"

"Where exactly are you going with that cart?" Roy questioned. He noted that the blue haired girl, that was wearing her school uniform (which was probably the only set of clothes she had besides the Eva pilot suit), seemed to be pushing a cart that carried a tray full of food. The three small tray holders on the top including what looked like eggs cooked sunny side up, bread, and what looked like mash potatoes to Roy. The bottom two areas held a carton of milk, and some type of rectangular substance that, at the moment, Roy had no clue what they were. He assumed the darker of the three items was meat but, he has been wrong in the past concerning the exact makeup of the supposedly edible matter.

"To Pilot Ikari's room." Rei said nonchalantly. The same monotone voice that the alchemists had gotten used to from her.

"Pilot Ikari?" Ed repeated as his eyes lit up a bit. He suddenly raced towards where Roy was standing, nearly knocking the 'taller' man aside. "Wait, does that mean that Shinji Ikari is now awake?"

"Yes." Rei replied without a single change in her expression.

Roy and Edward waited a second or two, and before both realized that, the expressionless Rei was not going to say anything else besides that. Rei, for the most part, apparently only answers the question directed at her, and does not expand on it. Something both alchemist probably should have known already. There have been exceptions to this, after all, she wasn't a complete robot. Though this was obviously not one of them.

"Okay…" Roy said before rubbing his chin. "Um, I guess we're just surprised that we haven't heard about it till now."

"He work up just ten minutes ago." Rei answered. "This food was prepared ahead of time in the case that Pilot Ikari would regain consciousness. I was given the order to take this food to him, and give him the mission briefing."

"Looks like they were expecting him to awake." Ed frowned a bit at this.

"His injuries were not severe." Rei said in her standard tone. "His recovery was not in question."

"Except maybe the time when he would wake up would be in question." Roy noted.

"And another miracle seemed to be in play." Ed said with his arms crossed. "At least, that is how I look at it." He then eyed the food and the small booklet that Rei held in her hand. He assumed that the booklet contained the mission briefing that Rei talked about. "Though I had a feeling the ones command believed that this was going to happen in time anyways."

"That is not correct." Rei countered. "Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi were not convinced that he would regain consciousness in time. And if he did, whether he would agree to pilot."

"Hmm. So they are giving him a choice whether to pilot or not?" Armstrong spoke up as he approached them from behind.

"Neither Captain Katsuragi, or Doctor Akagi can force Pilot Ikari to do his duty." Rei said without even the slightest bit of concern in her eyes. "However, in the event that Pilot Ikari were to reject his duty, I would pilot Unit 01. Doctor Akagi would have to rewrite Unit 01's personal data files."

"And let me guess, the mission's chance of success drops considerably since you never used Unit 01 before." Roy said as he lightly shook his head at the absurdity of the situation they were in. _'According to Misato, Rei Ayanami's test showed that she would not survive combat if she was the sniper. But, all she would be doing was shooting right? Not hand to hand combat. Then again, aiming and holding the weapon would be probmatic if she couldn't use Unit 01 properly. And even without that concern, if this young girl were to pilot as the sniper, no one would protect her.' _He then looked into her eyes and his frown deepened. _'But from the looks of it, the complete lack of self-preservation, it wouldn't matter to her. Damn conditioning!'_

"Heh." Ed sighed. "Well, we've been here long enough to know that is how this organization operates. They give you a choice, but it's a choice between fighting, and the end of the world. As bad as I thought our military acts, at least I had more choices then that."

"Hmm. No argument from there." Roy nodded. While he admits to doing a lot of horrible things in the past due to 'orders', it was his own prerogative to follow them. Failure to follow them would have resulted in a court marshal, and time in prison. Granted, if it was a major offense, it would have resulted in his execution. _'Or turned into one of those Chimeras._' He mentally added. But even in those cases, the decision to follow or not to follow those orders, did not mean the end of the world either.

As the alchemist seemingly found themselves at a loss to continue this conversation, or strike up a new one, Rei continued to silently stare at each of the alchemist for a while before she finally spoke up on her own. "Can I continue my duties now?"

"Yeah. I guess…" Roy said before something clicked in his mind. "Oh wait, I wanted to ask you something?"

"Yes?" Rei said, and stared at him expectantly.

"Um…" Roy opened his mouth before closing it again. He then stared at his wrist watch before finally answering Rei. "Never mind. I'll tell you after the operation is finished."

"Very well." Rei said, and turned around and pushed the cart down the hallway. Continuing her trek down to Shinji's room.

As Rei departed from their view, Edward saw another opportunity to pounce. "You can't even say anything to her too?"

"No." Roy said with contempt as he knew exactly where this conversation was heading. "It's not that…"

"Mustang is terrified of women! Mustang is terrified of women!" Edward teased in a high pitched voice as he continued to tease Roy. He waved his arms around to emphasized his point. "Now I know how to take down Mustang. Bring him a 'real' woman." Edward began to giggle.

Roy glared at Edward. "And what about you and Winry?"

"Eh?" This caused Edward to stop dead in his tracks. "Well, um, she…" Ed narrowed his eyes at the sudden change in subject. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Roy grinned at the apparently touchy subject for Ed. "Nothing. But it still got you to stop didn't it?"

Ed growled at Roy.

"And as for why…" Roy frowned as he stared at where the blue haired girl went off to. "Whether or not she is the main attacking member is irrelevant. She is still putting her life in danger. While I might hate the fact that her psyche seemed to have been 'engineered' into an apparent apathetic and detached soldier, given the situation that is being thrust onto her, this might be the best state of mind for her to be in if something went wrong."

Armstrong looked down at his superior questioningly. "Is that what you truly believe Second Lieutenant Mustang?"

"I see you have gotten used to my new rank already." Roy commented before answering the question presented to him. "As for her, no. It is not something she, Shinji, or any other pilot's state of mind should be. Soldier or not, she's only thirteen or fourteen, and being selfless for the sake of 'duty' should have its limits. But we don't have time for her to be adding questions in her mind." He then looked un into the ceiling and imagined the Angel's drill continuing down to its ultimate goal, Nerv Headquarters. "This will all end midnight tonight. One way, or the other."

Surgical Ward 3, Central Hospital

In the hospital room, a lone bed was currently occupied by a brown haired boy. The bare, undecorated walls gave the room a sterile, almost cold feel. Though the large window was letting in the 'sunlight' fill the otherwise desolate room with a bit of warmth, in the otherwise impersonal room.

At the moment, Shinji, who just woke up, peered over and listened as Rei gave a briefing of the mission behind a cart with a food tray on it.

"…they will stand by and await further orders." Rei said as she read off the briefing in her little booklet. "The operation will begin promptly at midnight. With initial alchemy compatibility testing before the final phrase of the operation commences." Rei closed the book, and reached under the tray. "Here's a new one." She threw a freshly packed plug suit at him.

Shinji sat up and stared at the plug suit in front of him. His head dipped lazily a bit as the last vestiges of sleep still remained.

"Don't show up half-asleep looking like that." Rei said.

Shinji eyes widened at bit as he stared at Rei due to her apparently 'odd' statement. Suddenly he looked down to note what he was wearing, or more appropriately, what he was not wearing. "AH!" He frantically began grabbing at the bed sheet and pulled them up as close to his chest as possible. "Sorry."

After a moment, he then looked up from his position as bits of Rei's speech entered his mind. "Alchemy…"

"Part of the operation would be an real world test to see whether or not alchemy is compatible for the Eva." Rei said.

Shinji downcast his eyes. "So they want me to test this 'science' already." He said in a barely audible tone.

"Incorrect." Rei replied, causing Shinji to shoot his head back to her. "I will be the pilot that will be doing the field testing of alchemy. Your duty is to neutralize the Angel."

Shinji's eyes widened considerably. "But, isn't that dangerous? We, I never used alchemy in an Eva before. I'm still surprised that I could even use it at all."

"My safety is not important." Rei said nonchalantly. "It is the orders that were given to me. And I will follow through."

"What?" Shinji replied, his eyes widened to as far as they could go. "What do you mean?" His mouth quivering as he spoke those words.

"It was an order from Commander Ikari." Rei continued. "I'm leaving. Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi will be waiting at the cage." She turned around promptly walked out of the room. "Goodbye." She said, before the door closed behind her.

Shinji gasped. "Wait, Rei… REI?!" Shinji reached out to the now closed door. After a few seconds, he dropped his hand and looked forward. He then stared at the food that was left for him. His eyes dropped as he knew what he had to do.

-Later…

Shelter

"So we spent all that time in the hospital for nothing." Ed growled. He sat on a blanket that was spread across on the floor. "After we saw Rei Ayanami leave, the orderly came over and told us we were not allowed to see Shinji. Commander's orders."

"Really?" Hikari said as she sat crossed legged next to him. "That stinks. If I were in your position, I would have demanded to see him to see if he was okay. Even if it was just for a minute."

"Oh we did that." Ed said as his mind wandered back to the events. "Except if we had done that, the muscle men around the orderly would have made sure we didn't get very far." Ed shivered a bit as he remembered their faces. "One threatened to take my remaining arm and leg off."

"Ooooo. That's not good." Hikari said frowning. "I guess there was no way you could have messed with those guys."

"Ptttf." Ed began to grin. "That threat was nothing actually. I could've easily taken him on. And if muscles were all that big of a deal, we had Armstrong on our side!"

"Hehehe." Hikari giggled as she knew who he was talking back. She only met him a few times, but it was hard not to miss him given his height and size. "You got a point there." She then frowned as she thought of what they could have done. "But you still didn't cause too much trouble right?"

Ed began to shiver a bit. "The muscle men wouldn't have been a problem. It was what they mentioned next that made sure we didn't cause any trouble." Ed began to sweat. "They said that Doctor Akagi is going to make sure that there wasn't any trouble at the hospital. They said if we caused a ruckus, and she hears about it, she's going to dedicate her life to ensure that we would be living in a never ending nightmare."

Hikari blinked in surprise at Ed's sudden change of expression. "Is she really that scary?"

"Believe me…" Ed said as an image of Ritsuko's demonic smile flashed before him. "There is a reason why we believed their words in an instant."

"Hehe." Hikari sighed as a smile appeared on her face. "The important thing is that you're all safe right? And you're safe right here." Her bright smile was then replaced with contemplation as she thought of something. "Speaking of safe, I wonder where those boys are? We're in a State of Emergency, don't tell me that they are still on the rooftop waiting for those machines to come out?"

Ed frowned. "I shouldn't be here either. I should be at the Nerv Command Center making sure Shinji and Rei are okay."

"Oh yeah." Hikari shot her glance back at Ed. "I was wondering why you were here. I mean, you do work for Nerv right? I thought maybe they'd at least, let you watch… or something." Hikari was not sure how high up he was at Nerv. Especially given that the world never even heard of Nerv before the Angels arrived. Given that Edward, who came all the way from Germany just to be at the 'front lines', she assumed he had a somewhat high and important position there.

"About that…" Ed scowled as he remembered the orders that were given to him. "Doctor Akagi basically said that since I'm a student, and that they only needed two alchemist to watch…" Ed mumbled the last part before he spoke in his normal tone again, "I should mingle with other students. Or something."

"Heh. I guess that makes sense." Hikari said with wonder. Somehow ending that discussion instantly. "Anyways, I'm still happy that you're here." Hikari smiled at him.

Ed flopped back onto the blanket and sighed. "I guess there isn't much I can do now. And just hope everything turns out for the best."

"Heh. Yeah." Hikari sighed. "Oh, and it appears your older brother is really popular around here."

Ed raised his head just enough to see his brother, and the apparent wave of admirers surrounding him. The students, and even some adults were all commenting on how amazing and strange it was for a man to be wearing full body armor. Even if he had 'health' reasons for staying in that armor. A number of them were even poking it to see if it was the real deal.

Al then turned to Ed and gave him a little wave. "Uheheheh…"

Ed dropped his head back to the mat. "Well, I just hope when this operation is over, there is still a day to look forward to."

-Later…

Mount Futago

It was 8:11 PM, the Angel's drill into the earth above Nerv Headquarters has reached the seventeenth layer. At the rate and speed it was going through the layers, the estimated time it will reach headquarters was three hours and fifty-five minutes. The road leading up the mountain was jammed with power generator trucks. Power was sent from all over Japan to this one location in the hopes that one shot, at most two, would take down that Angel.

On the mountain side, Ritsuko and Maya watched as Unit 01 lowered the massive cannon in front of them. The massive cannon being the Eva Positron Sniper Rifle, formerly Strategic SDF Lab's Automated Positron Rifle. From above, anyone would have said it was a standard sniper rifle, blown up a thousand times or more.

"This is a piece of precision machinery, so handle it carefully." Ritsuko said through her headset.

-Later on the ground…

After placing all the necessarily equipment in place, both Shinji and Rei stood in front of the weapon next to Misato and Ritsuko. They stood in front of the stadium lights that blanketed the area in blinding white light.

"This thing wasn't built for field operations. Will it really work?" Shinji said his concern out loud as he stared at the weapon in front of him.

"There is no choice. This is a makeshift solution." Ritsuko answered. "Theoretically, it should all work out. However, we're still not sure if the cannon barrel or the accelerator will hold until we try firing it." She then looked back at Unit 00.

Unit 00 was standing above a transmutation circle drawn dirt in front of the lake's shore. Given the many variables and the basic unknown result that will happen with this test, like the idea of absolutely nothing happening at all, it was determined that a simple 'basic' alchemic experiment should take place. The design was a basic alchemy design that was meant for beginners. Two triangles, a smaller one with the top angle pointing upwards, and a bigger one with the point pointing downward thus creating an awkward looking pentagram, with the bottom arm much bigger than the others. Two circles, one touching the points of the smaller triangle, and another slightly bigger one, ran parallel with the smaller circle.

"I'm more concerned about the alchemy test." Ritsuko said with a frown. "There are just too many variables that could go wrong."

"Shouldn't we cancel the test then?" Shinji said concerned.

Ritsuko shook her head. "No. Besides, that's for the commander to decide since this was his idea. And, I am confident our failsafe plan is sufficient if the worst case scenario does play out." Ristuko then sighed. "Still, I'd be surprised it nothing goes wrong today. I just hope it isn't something that I should be concerned with."

"About that…" Shinji said before Ritsuko cut him off.

"Before you say anything, we should give you a rundown of the operation." Ritsuko said.

Misato and Ritsuko were giving a basic mission briefing to the two pilots in front of the blinding stadium lights that lit up the makeshift base. Shinji for the most part, already knew his role due to Rei giving him the briefing at his bedside. Misato and Ritsuko was simply filling in the details that Rei's briefing lacked.

"…remember to make adjustments for these deviations. You must penetrate the core precisely." Ritsuko said to Shinji.

"But I've never practiced this!" Shinji protested.

"Don't worry. Just do what the manual says. When the indicators converge in the center, pull the trigger." Ritsuko answered. "The computers will handle the rest. And once you fire it, it will take time before you can fire again for cooling, reloading, and replacement of the fuses." Ritusko then looked at Rei. "Given that the only role Rei would be playing is defensive and testing to see whether alchemy can work with the Evangelions, needless to say you must hit it the first time."

"Then, if I miss and the enemy shoots back…" Shinji said, refusing to be placated. "If alchemy fails and…"

"Don't think about unnecessary things right now." Ritsuko said in a stern voice. "Just thinking about destroying it in one shot."

Shinji lowered his head. _'This… is like last time. I have no choice.' _Shinji's thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice behind him.

"I…" Rei said softly. "I just need to defend Unit 01, correct?"

"Yes. And test whether alchemy will work." Ritsuko added. "You will be in contact with the Second Lieutenant Mustang and Warrant Officer Armstrong during this test."

"Understood." Rei answered.

"Rei…" Shinji said as the way she spoke concerned him. "Wait," Shinji quickly said, causing Ritsuko to take notice. "You said that, since her sync ratio isn't as good as mine, then she won't be able to aim the sniper weapon properly. What about when she uses…"

"Shinji, I told you not to think about unnecessary things right now." Ritsuko retorted. "And if it makes you take your mind off of this matter, the alchemy Rei will be doing will be a very basic transmutation of turning the water in front of her into ice. It shouldn't put Rei under too much stress even with her sync ratio."

"But umm…" Shinji trailed off.

"It's time." Misato said as she crossed her arms. "Both of you, get changed."

Type 14 Large Mobile Command Car

The truck, that doubled as a mobile command center, was filled with computers, chairs, and of course, Nerv staff. And technically, both Mustang and Armstrong were a part of Nerv.

"So what you're saying is…" Roy said as he put on his headset. "All I have to do is give instructions to Rei when the time arrives." While this type of headset was new to him, especially the fact that it was 'wireless', he could not say that it was all that unusual either. He's used one a few times while working with Hughes during 'covert' communications. Amestris might be behind the times compared to this world. But they were not extremely far apart either.

Maya nodded. "When they get into position, just push this button on the headset, and you should be talking directly to Rei."

"And what about Armstrong?" Roy asked noting that he was simply standing behind him.

"He's here for… moral support." Ritsuko answered for Maya. A grin appeared on her face.

"I feel so honored." Armstrong said as sparkles appeared around him. Though he began to frown as he thought of something. "However, I do not believe Mustang or I can truly give her proper instructions."

"After all," Roy said jumping in. "It's one thing having the capability of doing alchemy which she had already proven. It's another thing using alchemy through an avatar… in this case, a machine. Even if most of this machine's parts are organic."

"It would be like using a cat with automail parts as a go between in making alchemy." Armstrong said as he continued to frown in disapproval. "Besides the ethical question of forcing a poor and cute and cuddly cat to go through that, I have a hard time imagining it would even work."

Maya nodded as she shared much of their concern. "This is why we gave her that shield. If something were to go wrong, or if the test simply did not succeed, that shield will be there to protect her."

"That it true." Roy said though he was still not convinced. _'Back up plan or not. I don't think it will be enough. I hope she makes through.'_

Changing Room

Shinji pushed the button on his plug suit. The air rushed out, and his plug suit became skin tight. As he looked behind him, he could see the silhouette of Rei changing. She was apparently taking off her panties at that moment, which caused Shinji to quickly look away, his face now sporting a shade of red.

As Shinji got over his blushing, his expression sank as he thought about the mission in front of him, and what Rei said earlier. "We might die doing this," he said to Rei without looking in her direction.

Rei began zipping her plug suit up. "Why do you say that?"

Shinji sat silent for a while. Unable to answer Rei's question.

Rei pressed the button on her plug suit. "You won't die."

"Huh?" Shinji shot towards her direction.

"Because I'll protect you." Rei said as she looked up. "I told you my safety is not a concern. No matter what happens."

'_She said it again. And also, no matter what happens? But…'_ Shinji's eyes widened. "Wait. What about…"

Shinji hears the door slam shut ahead of him. Not realizing she was already on her way out when he got up.

Shelter

Edward sighed. He did not belong here. He should be out there giving support to Shinji or Rei. Instead of keeping his 'classmates' company in this underground tomb. _'At least the electricity is still on…'_

At that moment, all lights in the place shut down, plunging the windowless underground bunker into darkness.

'…_never mind.'_ Edward thought as he sighed. He then thought of something. _'Hmm. You'd think they had a backup generator or something. Well, since no one is looking, maybe I can sneak out and…'_ Suddenly he felt someone grab and hug him. Tightly. "Gah!" His eyes widened as he realized who was hugging him.

"Oh Edward! I'm scared!" Hikari's voice rang through Edward's ear.

Edward gulped as he tried to stay focused. "You know this was coming right? They planned a widespread national blackout."

Edward felt Hikari nod.

"But still, who knows what might happen here!" Hikari said. "I… didn't think it would be this dark down here too. Shouldn't there be some emergency lights at least?"

"Hmm." Edward tapped his chin with his free hand. "You… have a point there."

"Brother?" Al said in the darkness. His word interrupting Edward's thoughts. "Do you think Shinji will be alright?"

"Before I wasn't sure but…" Edward sighed. "Now… after two Angels under his belt, things should be looking up right?" _'Besides, like the other two times. Failure is not something that I want to think about.'_

Mount Futago

Shinji sat on the massive metallic holder that kept his Eva in place, and Rei did the same with the holder on her Eva. These holders also gave easy access to the Evas when the time of activation arrived. All around them, the nation darkened as the blackout spread. The only lights were the one on site. The floodlights behind them and the blue hue of the Angel in front of them, and the stars above them were all the illumination they had for miles. Both were crouched down as they looked upon the city in front of them.

After listening to the wind swirl around them, Shinji decided to speak up. "Why do you pilot this thing?" _'And please don't say it is to protect me.' _Shinji mentally added.

Rei looked down at her feet before responding. "Because I'm bound."

"Bond?" Shinji asked surprised.

"Yes, it's a bond." Rei replied.

Shinji blinked a few seconds before he looked forward. _'It can't be to the Eva. Then…' _"With my father?"

"With all people." Rei answered quietly.

Shinji contemplated Rei's words. _'So she is doing this to help everyone?' _"You're very strong, Ayanami." Shinji said with a hint of jealously in his voice. Not jealous in Rei's position, but jealous that, while he was near terrified at the role that was given him, Rei seemed to take on her part without any problem. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be concerned about your health."

After a short pause, Rei spoke up. "I do not understand. If I die, it would simply be an equal exchange would it not?" Rei said as she stood up.

"Huh?" Shinji said at the sudden turn in the discussion. "What do mean by that?"

"I have nothing else." Rei said in a quiet voice. "Equivalent Exchange. Isn't that what the alchemists believe in?"

"But…" Shinji stood up after hearing her last question. "This isn't what they meant. And that doesn't mean that you…" Shinji could not finish his sentence. His mouth remained open, but the words he wanted to say refused to come out.

A quiet few seconds descended upon the two. "It's time." Rei finally said as she moved towards her Eva. Effectively ending their conversation.

Shinji attention remained at Rei as she entered Unit 01.

-Later…

Type 14 Large Mobile Command Center

"The time is now Zero hundred hours." A Maya said through the intercom.

"Looks like it is show time." Roy said as he sat up in his chair.

"Nearly half a day of work all coming down to this." Armstrong commented. "A few seconds that could determine whether there will be a tomorrow."

"Commencing operation." Makoto sounded at his station.

Misato nodded and then looked forward at the image of Shinji displayed on the computers. "Shinji, we're entrusting you with all the electricity of Japan. Good luck."

"Yes, ma'am." Shinji replied through the intercom.

"And Rei…" Ritsuko followed. "Remember that this is merely a test. If there is no reaction within the first ten seconds of the test, abort and use the shield."

"Understood." Rei quietly replied.

Misato crossed her arms and gave her orders. "Initiate primary connection…"

Misato gave the orders transferring power from all over Japan and into the temporary substation at Mount Futago. The technicians at their command post following through her orders. Technically, from the activations of the power generators to the cooling of the system have all been completed with no noticeable problems. Everything appeared to be a go.

"Release final safety lock." Makoto said as he typed in the commands.

Outside, they see Unit 01 'cocking' the rifle, loading the in the fuse like it was a regular ammunition round. One the size of one of the stages of the Apollo spaceship at least.

"Error correction for rotation and gravity is plus 0.0009." Makoto relayed.

"The computers should be doing most of the work." Misato mentioned. "If all goes well, all he has to do is fire and be done with."

"Everything appears to be in place. Star the clock." Ritsuko ordered to Makoto.

"Yes ma'am." Makoto replied and began a second countdown sequence. Ten seconds started counting down.

"Rei, begin the test." Ritsuko said through her com-link.

"Understood." Rei replied.

"Second Lieutenant Mustang, I leave the rest to you." Ristuko patted him on the shoulder.

"Yes Second Lieutenant! Make us all proud!" Armstrong appeared to wipe a tear away from his eye.

"Yes ma'am." Roy said. His eyes then narrowed a bit in disbelief by the 'moral support' he received. He then pushed the button on his headset. "Rei can you hear me?"

"I can." Rei replied with an even voice.

'_During this time, the pilot 'syncs' with that machine. If this is to work, than somehow, that machine must be considered an extension of their body.' _Roy contemplated before he relayed what he believed was what the blue haired pilot needed for this test to 'succeed'. "Rei, try to imagine that… Evangelion as a part of you. If you do, than imagine yourself alchemizing the water in front of you."

"Understood." Rei said.

Staging Area

Shinji Ikari, using Unit 01, was in position. The headgear that contained the screen showing the field of vision and the computer's targeting software was robotically placed on top of his head. He could see two triangles closing in on the target as they calculated what it would take to make the perfect shot.

Next to his unit was Rei and Unit 00. Unit 00 was bent down and with one hand placed on the pre-made alchemic circle.

Right now though, Shinji was simply focused on the task at hand.

"Voltage is 0.2 short of critical." Makoto relayed through the intercom.

In the distance away from the staging area, steam began rising above the cables that hooked up the generators that powered the weapon. Electrical discharged crisscrossed the field of turbines.

"Seventh and final connection engaged!" Makoto relayed. "All photo-fuses electron fuses, commence convergence! Transmitting all energy to the positron rifle!"

Shinji gritted his teeth as the seconds ticked by. The intensity seemingly increase with each moment.

In comparison, Rei appeared to be calm and collected as she tried to pass down her elementary alchemic abilities to the Eva. Her eyes were closed as she began to concentrate.

At that moment, the transmutation circle began to glow. The water in front of her began to swirl.

Type 14 Large Mobile Command Center

"It's working!" Ritsuko said in a near ecstatic voice.

However, as she said that, the reaction in the alchemic circle began to dissipate.

"Not enough apparently." Roy frowned.

"Damn." Ritsuko frowned. _'It must be due to her lower sync ratio. If she only had a little more…' _"Three seconds left. Rei, prepare the shield…"

As she said that, all of a sudden, huge flash crossed across the computer screen. When the light subsides and the image returns, most of the room was in awe.

"Whoa." Maya said amazed as in front of their screen, they could see what appeared to be a massive, and thick, ice shield of some sorts surrounding the Evas. With just enough room for Shinji to fire through without hitting it.

Ritsuko continued to blink as she herself could not believe what she was seeing. "Needless to say that is much better results than we had expected."

"We'll plan the party later." Misato commented as she scowled. "However, we still have to defeat that Angel!"

"Seven seconds till the cannon is ready to fire. Five, four…" Makoto said as he continued the countdown.

Suddenly they began to see what appeared to be lights flashing around the thin sides of the Angel. Like the lights flashing by an electronic board.

Maya turned from her seat and yelled back at her commanding officers. "High energy output detected from the target!"

"What did you say?" Ritsuko said incensed.

'_Shit! The Angel must've realized what is happening when Rei created that ice shield!' _Roy scowled. "Rei! Try and reinforce the shield!"

"Understoo…" Rei started her reply.

The computers flashed **go**indicating that Shinji was ready to fire the rifle.

"Fire!" Misato's voice drowning out everyone else's.

Unit 01

Shinji pressed the buttons on his Eva's controller. This contracted the Eva's trigger finger, triggering the 'rifle' to fire.

A massive energy beam launched from the rifle and shot straight at the Angel at a high speed.

However, at that moment, the Angel fired it's own high energy beam. The bright purplish beam met Shinji's, causing both beams to curve to the side.

A massive boom could be heard on the far end as Shinji's beam was diverted and sliced through one building that was not sunk into the ground, as the one behind it exploded in steel and concrete. When it made contact with the ground, the massive energy burst exploded upward, which while still massive, minimized the ground damage as it only destroyed a part of Tokyo 3 that was left exposed on the surface.

The Angel's beam…

Type 14 Large Mobile Command Center

**BOOM! ** The Angel's beam slammed into the ice shield at an angle. Large cracks could be seen on the Eva's side of the shield. A massive cloud of steam rose on the Angel's side as the majority of the ice shield vaporized. An explosion caused the ground to rumble. Which further cracked the remaining ice shield. What remained was quickly turning back into liquid.

The windows shattered as rocks and other loose material flown up and whirled around. The shaking was throwing the occupants who were not already seated in the truck around like rag dolls. And those that were seated had to hold onto the consoles that were fixed to the floor in the hopes that they would not fall out of their chair. Or worse, get their head cracked open on the console.

"Are you okay doctor?" Armstrong said as Ristuko fell on top of him during the incident. He was gingerly holding her as when truck was rocking.

Ritsuko frown. "Yeah I'm fine. Could you… stop holding me."

"Sorry." Armstrong got up and bowed his head. "It was not my intention to… disrespect you in any way."

Maya looked back at the two and gave a slight frown at the scene.

Misato however was more concerned about what was going on outside of the truck. "We missed?"

"Shit." Roy said. "If we missed then…"

As the computers began to go back online. They confirmed the worst.

"The enemy drill has broken into the Geo-Front!" Makoto vociferated.

"This means we have to get a second shot ready." Roy slammed his fist into the console.

"Fire two! Hurry!" Misato ordered.

Unit 01

Shinji cocked the 'rifle', discharged the spent fuse and loaded the second one in.

Type 14 Large Mobile Command Center

"Replacing fuses! Initiating recharges!" Makoto relayed.

"I can't see anything. All I see is steam!" Shinji said through the intercom.

"Don't worry." Ritsuko commented to help placate the boy. "The computer knows where the Angel is, you don't have to worry about it."

"Barrel cooling in progress." The female technician said that sat next to Makoto. "Resume positron acceleration."

"What about the ice shield?" Ritsuko said behind him.

"Ninety percent of the shield is gone." Makoto said viewing the image of the area.

"Should I order Rei to make a new one?" Roy questioned.

Ritsuko shook her head. "Not enough time. That last blast should've wiped away the transmutation circle." She then frowned as she realized something about the Angel's attack. "And I hate to say this, but the ice shield itself wouldn't have been sufficient in stopping that attack. We were lucky the attack veered off as it did since it would gone through it without any problems." She then turned to the monitor. "Rei, raise the space shuttle shield and prepare for a second attack."

"If all goes well there won't be a second attack." Misato growled.

'_That wouldn't have been a concern if the first attack made it through.' _Roy thought in contempt, before later chiding himself since he knew that Shinji had no way of knowing that Angel would fire at that exact moment. "Rei, can you hear me? Set up the shield…"

**crackling sound**

"What's going on?" Roy said as the only thing he heard was static.

Suddenly, an error message appeared on the computers.

"What?" Ritsuko's face paled. "It's coming from Unit 00!"

Outside, they see Unit 00, with the spaceship shield, appeared to be slumped over behind it. It's head leaning on the shield that appeared to have been forced into the ground.

"Unit 00's battery is drained!" Makoto relayed.

"What?!" Misato cried out. "How can that be? We still have… wait no…"

"The alchemy test." Ritsuko sounded what was on Misato's mind.

"Damn it!" Roy eyed Makoto. "How long before Shinji can fire again?"

"Another high energy reading coming from the target!" Maya relayed. Her voice showing a bit of strain.

"Oh no!" Misato shifted her attention to the computers.

"Unit 00 is standing right in front of Unit 01. That means that Unit 00 will get the blunt of the attack!" Ritsuko cried out.

"No!" Roy said raising to his feet.

Unit 01

"WHAT?!" Shinji yelled in shock as he heard the conversation in the cockpit.

Suddenly, he saw the high energy beam from the Angel racing towards him again.

No, not at him.

The beam strikes Unit 00 almost dead on. Shinji was suddenly surrounded by a wave of purple light.

"Rei!" Misato yelled through the intercom.

Shinji's eyes were closed for a second as his cockpit was bathed in light. At least that was what he had expected. He opened one eye to see that something was blocking most of the light. That something was Unit 00.

"Rei… she somehow got the shield in place before her battery was completely drained." Misato said through the intercom.

However…

The shield was only able to give up so much protection to a slumping Unit 00. The shield was placed in the ground as a way to protect Unit 01. Not Unit 00. The unprotected armor that protected Unit 00's internal structure were melting. The top of Unit 00 began to burn.

"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled at the image in front of them.

"Even if Unit 00 still had power, the shield can't hold out much more!" Ritsuko relayed in fear.

"Damage to Unit 00 appear to be reaching critical levels!" Makoto followed, though he was not sure if this was really the case. Truth was, without receiving any information from Unit 00 directly due to it being without energy, they only had Shinji's camera to go by. And seeing the exposed armor was completely gone, and exposed flesh rendered to ash, only the worst could have been assumed.

"Aren't we ready yet?!" Misato yelled out her impatience.

"Ten more seconds!" Makoto followed.

"Do we even have that amount of time?" Roy said next.

Shinji gritted his teeth. He knew Rei's time was running out. But he had to wait for the computer to recalculate and retarget onto the Angel. As the triangle and circle in his viewer moved closer to its target, Shinji's impatience began to wear on him. "Hurry up!"

At that moment, images of what Rei said before appeared in his head.

'_If I die, it would simply be an equal exchange would it not?'_

"No. That isn't fair. It isn't fair!" Shinji shut his eyes closed for a second as tears threatened to fall. "This is not equal!"

Unit 00 continued to slump further down. More of its inner structure was becoming exposed.

A ping was heard in Shinji's headset.

"NOW!" Roy voice boomed in his headset.

Outside Unit 01

Unit 01's trigger finger contracted. A massive beam shot past Unit 00 and straight across the lake. Ripples waved out from the beam as this time, nothing got in the way of the beam.

The beam sliced through the Angel as if that massive structure was made of nothing more than paper-maché. A massive explosion could be seeing leaving the Angel's back side.

The massive floating Angel, that was now burning, began to sink towards the ground.

Unit 00 collapsed on the ground. Blood seemed to be seeping from the now unprotected 'head', 'arm'. and 'back' of the Eva.

"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled at the fallen Eva.

"Quick! Get a recovery team to Unit 00 now!" Ritsuko's voice sounded through the intercom.

Shinji up righted Unit 00 with Unit 01. As he was doing that, half of Unit 00's right arm fell of. The armor on Unit 00's upper torso was almost completely melted off. The exposed 'flesh' was burnt. Shinji was not sure, but he knew that at least the upper portions of it was now basically ash. After taking out what was left of the armor that covered the plug, the plug instantly shot out from the back. As it did, the LCL sprayed out from four holes from the plugs. He was thankful that, as badly damaged as that area was, it did not forcibly eject the plug when the Angel attack was at its worst.

Shinji, with Unit 01, pulled out Unit 00's plug and dropped it on the ground. He had Unit 01 knelt down to the ground. Afterwards, Shinji deactivated the plug and ejected it. As the LCL began to drain, he first tried to forcibly tried to kick open the hatch of the plug. As the hatch finally unlocked and opened due to still receiving energy from the Eva's battery, he quickly jumped out slid down Unit 01's back. After coughing up the liquid LCL for a moment, forcing the last of the liquid out of his lungs as quickly as possible, he ran up to Unit 00's plug and grabbed the manual override handles that unlocks the plug's door during an emergency. Even with the scolding heat of the door handles, Shinji did not care. The only thought on his mind was that he needed to get her out. The heat that was melting the plugsuit's gloves was nothing compared to what he thought Rei was going through.

The hatch popped open. He grabbed the top of the hatchway and shot his head into the plug. "Ayanami!"

Rei was slumped over, seemingly unconscious at her seat. Her hands were still gripping the controls.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Shinji cried out. "Ayanami!"

Rei's eyes began to open. She raised her head to look at Shinji.

"Are you hurt? Are you in pain?" Shinji said as tears began to form around his eyes.

Rei's image began to focus on him. "I was no longer synced with Unit 00. So I felt no residual feedback."

A smile appeared on Shinji's face. "Don't say that you have nothing else. I mean… not everything that is given, something has to be taken away. Life isn't something you're supposed to give away!"

Rei continued to stare at Shinji.

"And don't say goodbye." Shinji continued. "Don't say goodbye on a mission because, it's too sad."

Shinji suddenly broke down and cried. His tears dropped down into the LCL at the bottom of Rei's plug.

"Why are you crying?" Rei asked. After no response from Shinji, she looked away from him. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do at a time like this."

Shinji looked up at her. "You can just smile. If you want, you can think of it as 'equal' exchange." Shinji said smiling brightly at her.

Rei looked at Shinji, and an image of Gendo appeared in her head. Her eyes widened.

And then soft smile appeared on her face.

-Later…

Shelter

The lights began to flicker on. Though it was more than a few hours after the Angel fell to the ground before power was again rerouted back to the rest of the nation.

"Is it over?" Hikari said as she looked around the area. She arms were still tightly hugging Edward.

"If the lights are on, the answer is probably yes." Ed said in a strained voice. He was still sweating bullets given the very close contact to the Class Rep.

"Oh, well…" Hikari let go of Edward and scooted a few inches away from him. "I knew our Shinji Ikari will come out on top in the end! Luckily I kept everyone calm in those tense moments."

"Rigggggggggggggggght." Ed said sarcastically.

"Well…" Al said in the next mat next to him. "Looks like Shinji came through again!" He gave Edward a thumbs up.

"Yeah." Ed replied, giving Al a thumbs up.

"We should throw a party for him later today! Or tomorrow." Hikari yawned. "Probably tomorrow since I stayed up all night to make sure everyone was okay." She plopped down on the mat.

'_More like kept me awake this whole time.' _Ed thought frowning. Though he had to admit, he would have probably stayed up all night anyways too since he would have been worrying over Shinji this whole time. Now that a new day was here, maybe… things will be better.

At least, that was his hope in all this.

-Later…

Commander Ikari's Office

"How is the damage on Unit 00?" Gendo said in his typical posture at his desk.

"It looked worse than it really is." Ritsuko answered as she looked over the papers in her hand. "It'll take more time for the organic parts to heal, but only the outer exterior of the unit was damaged. Except for the arm which, thankfully is regenerating fairly quickly. Now it will take time to rebuild the armor surrounding them once they are all healed. Those carrying the purse certainly won't be happy about that. But given Rei Ayanami's last minute thinking by placing the heat shield into the ground before the power completely ran out, it could've been a lot worse."

"And how is Rei Ayanami?" Gendo continued.

"Rei Ayanami was not injured during the attack." Ritsuko stated with a slight frown. Only allowing a little of her animosity towards the little girl show. "If there is one thing to be thankful for, when the battery power was drained, it broke the connection between Rei Ayanami and Unit 00. She felt no pain during the attack."

"I see." Gendo then took a short pause before he moved onto the next topic. "And what about the test? Do you consider it a success or a failure?"

"Well…" Ritsuko tapped the side of her clipboard with her pencil. "I wouldn't go so far as a failure but, the fact that it drained the battery power much faster than our 'five minute window' did take us off guard."

"So the source of the alchemic energy used to alchemize matter came from the Eva's internal energy source?" Gendo questioned with a bit of disappointed in his tone.

Ritsuko shook her head. "No. At least, not completely. According to the scientist that looked over the data, the amount of energy needed to create that ice wall would have been greater than that found in the internal battery. Even if her battery pack was full at the time, it wouldn't have been sufficient to create even a tenth of the ice wall. Much less create that arc that surrounded the Eva's position."

"Intriguing." Gendo's interest returned. "And have the alchemist provided a theory on where this 'extra' energy came from?"

"Warrant Officer Armstrong and Second Lieutenant Mustang both presented theories that their scientist believed, was the source of the alchemic energies." Ritsuko flipped through a few pages until she saw the summary of their explanations. "According to the first theory, the energy is derived from the energy of the earth's crust. Tectonic shifts, the movement of the magma, and so on. The alchemist uses this energy, with the help of a transmutation circle, to change one object into another. This is the more accepted of the two theories on where this energy came from."

"And the second one?" Gendo asked.

"The second one, as relayed by Mustang, is that the energy came across the 'gate' and in turn, came from the other world. In other words, energy, from one parallel world, like the souls of the dead, was used as the energy for their alchemy." Ritsuko explained. "Obviously, most scientist on his world dismiss this controversial theory as fringe, blasphemy, and a fairy tale cooked up by the anti-alchemy extremist as a way to stop people from using alchemy."

Gendo grinned at the last theory. "Of course. It's always better to believe that when they transmute a rock into a clay doll, it wasn't used at the expense of someone's soul in a parallel world. It's nice to justify that this science is harmless with no moral consequence, even as this science preaches equal exchange."

"Of course you do have to wonder, if the latter theory is correct, than when Second Impact hit, then they must've been flooded with alchemic power." Ritsuko stated. "Supposing that this was the world was the source of the energy. And not a 'third' world that's more similar to theirs, time wise at least."

"No matter." Gendo said. "Doesn't matter which theory is correct. What is important is that we now know that the energy does not come from the Evas themselves."

"We're still looking into whether the reason the energy from the battery is due to some sort of 'start up' energy. In other words, the energy that was required to even begin the transmutation." Ritsuko noted. "If true, than that would still limit our ability with this science."

"Very well." Gendo said. "Still, even if it meant it can only be used when they are plugged in, the test with Rei Ayanami and Unit 00 can still be considered a success, and is now a number one priority in terms of research."

"Hmm." Ritsuko closed her eyes as she remembered another matter that Gendo had to deal with today. "Speaking of Rei Ayanami, what did you tell Second Lieutenant Mustang when he brought up the issue about her, residence?"

"I told him I accepted." Gendo stated.

Ritsuko blinked, a bit surprised by the answer. "Huh? You accepted his request?"

"I was against it at first since I had my own reasons for putting her there." Gendo grinned. "And when I told him no at first, he threatened that if he did not gain guardianship of her, that he would refuse to work with us and he will do everything in his power to prevent me from having the Philosopher's Stone."

Ritsuko smirked. "I'm surprised he wanted to do this. I never considered him to be the 'caring type'. Still, did Mustang believed he has any leverage in this world? We do have the other two of course. And even then…"

"Let me finish." Gendo said stopping Ritsuko in her tracks. "He then went on to say that, whatever reason I have in keeping her in that place should pale in comparison to what I'm about to offer. If Edward Elric and his brother, Alphonse Elric discover something about the Philosopher's Stone that he'd feel would be, detrimental to his cause, he would be bound to keep it secret from Nerv. However, if I accept this new living arrangement for Rei, he would ensure that all of Edward and Alphonse Elric's findings on the Philosopher's Stone will make it to me. And of course, now Second Lieutenant Roy Mustang will also answer to me concerning his own findings about the Philosopher's Stone."

"Alphonse?"

"Yes. Apparently he isn't simply a suit of armor." Gendo grinned. "But a well trained alchemist in his own right. And like Edward Elric, despite his age, he is also well versed in the understanding of alchemy."

'_Well, I knew Gendo would've found out anyways. I didn't think it would be this soon though. And from Mustang of all people.'_ Ritsuko thought before continuing. "And if you believed Mustang about Alphonse, then that means you're going to bring him down here?"

"No." Gendo replied. "Edward apparently believes that his brother is safe from Nerv, and in so believing, will work on the Philosopher's Stone, no questions asked. I'll let him continue believing that for now. After all, if we assume that Alphone would be with him on the research anyway, no need to add animosity between Nerv and him if there is no reason for it."

"And you believed Mustang when he told you all this?" Ritsuko looked at Gendo questioningly. "You believed that he will betray his comrades only for Rei."

"No." Gendo replied with certainty. "I can tell Mustang is a man that knows how to work the system. I'm sure he was trying to manipulate the situation towards his liking while still not hurting his comrades. I'm sure he sees this as some sort of chest match. And he made a move believing it to be in his favor."

"And you accepted anyway knowing this?" Ritsuko questioned, still not sure what he was thinking.

"Of course." Gendo continued to grin. "At the very least, it would be interesting to see how Second Lieutenant Mustang and his 'subordinate' will be able to take care of Rei Ayanami. And now… I have his word. If the one he was going to betray was me, I'm sure Second Lieutenant Mustang will still make it seem he is on my good side. Still, if the Philosopher's Stone is what the say it is, one way or the other, I will have control over it. And if it ever appeared that he reneged on his promise…

I'll ensure the full weight of Nerv will be bearing down on his shoulders."

-------End of Chapter 12

Wooohooo! I did it! I did it! I finally finished Chapter 12. SORRY about the long delay. But well, real life simply got in the way.

Anyways, a few things. Yes, those 'theories' on how alchemy gets its energy came from both, the anime and manga. The anime one being that souls from another world are used, while the manga one uses the energy from the earth theory. I added both of them since it gives a nice question on which alchemy works for this particular world.

Second, those 'long' winded speeches, aren't there simply because I wanted more a bigger word count. I just, well, like explaining stuff. Partly because I believe the alchemists are behind the Evangelion's time, and that this is a written format. While I can take some liberties since I don't have to recreate this world, doesn't mean I should leave everything to the reader's (or the alchemists') imagination either. :-P

Not to say I'm completely happy about them since yeah, I think they are a tad too long either. I might fix them in a rewrite (great, I finished a chapter, and I'm already thinking of rewriting it. --), but, since I see nothing overtly wrong on this end, here it is.

-Next Chapter… Rei is now living with the Mustangs… um, Mustang and Hawkeye. How will life go there? And now that alchemy is proven to work with the Evangelions, what's next? Until then… later!


	13. A New Home For Rei

-1-I bet many of you thought this fic was dead right? Well, to be honest, can't say it was very alive for the past 3 years.

-Well, whatever. Anyways, yup. It's been a long time since the last update. And sadly, I can't claim it will get any better. Reason I'll state later.

-No beta. But really, I haven't updated this story in three years. Do I seriously think anyone would stick with me for that long? Not that I don't need one or wouldn't appreciate one but… 3 years is a LONG time to be gone.

-And yes, I know about the FFN beta system. But for the foreseeable future, I'll remain solo for now.

-And this is part of the reason for the lack of updates. Rereading what I have, while I still like where the story was going in a general sense, I felt like I was 'forcing' an update before with scenes that could have been written better. I know I was 'rewriting' the story before I suddenly 'stopped', but given the lack of movement on this story, right now I'm focusing on simply going forward.

- I'm also not going to expect many reviews because, and entirely my fault, I've been gone (from this story) for three years now. I mean the last time this story was updated, the FMA manga was still going and Evangelion 1.11 didn't even exist.

-Anyways, sorry for the fans that have been waiting for this day to happen. Hopefully I can make it up to you with this, hopefully long chapter.

-And now on with the chapter.

* * *

Roy and Riza's Apartment

"What do you mean we're adopting a pilot?" Riza stared down at Roy. One of her hands gripped a frying pan. Her free hand was tapping the bottom of said pan. "And why was I not consulted about this decision?"

Roy gulped as a trickle of sweat dripped down his face. "I… I tried but I couldn't contact you… And it was a spur of the moment and…"

Riza glared dangerously at him.

"If you were there, you might have done the same thing," Roy weakly defended. "Besides, I'm the Cap…"

Riza bonked a frying pan on his head. "Rank doesn't matter in this world remember?"

Roy rubbed the temple of his head where a fresh new bump appeared. "Look, the place that Commander Ikari was keeping her in was not suitable for anyone to be living in. And given her psychological mentality…"

"So you're a shrink now Mustang," Riza said with venom in her voice.

Roy was tempted to say something snarky about how else he could attract so many women in his days if he did not understand them. But he held back given that that was no way to convince anyone to his side. "It's… if you met her, you'd understand. They were grooming her for this position. And you know what Shinji Ikari has to do out there."

Riza glared silently at Roy before letting out a sigh. "It isn't that I would have said no. I just…" Riza stopped as she felt the presence of another person in the apartment. She turned her head towards the doorway.

Rei stood silently at the doorway wearing her school uniform and holding a single bag.

After a few moments of watching the new resident, Riza approached the girl and leaned down to her eye level. "Hello. Rei Ayanami right?"

Rei stared blankly at Riza. "Yes."

Riza was momentary at a loss for words by Rei's monotone response. "Since you'll be living here, the spare room we have is free. Lucky for us it was empty since we couldn't figure out what to do with it." She eyed Roy who rubbed the back of his head. "Even if it was, I would have asked Mister Mustang to clean it out for you anyways."

Rei continued to stare back at Riza without any indication of moving from her position.

"Um, you could put your stuff in there now. There is a spare cot and blanket there. We'd probably have to buy a drawer for you clothes though," Riza said as she tried to keep the conversation going with the quiet girl. "Has the rest of your stuff arrived?"

"This is all my belongings," Rei said in her monotone voice.

Riza blinked dumbfounded. She knew Rei was not the materialistic girl from what little she heard of her. But she was still surprised to find out, that besides the school uniform she wore, and the little bag she held in front of her was all that she owed. Even then, Riza also realized something about the way Rei spoke. "Well, you go ahead and unpack in your new room. I'll cook dinner. Do you have any request? I'm making a roast for tonight."

"I do not eat meat," Rei said.

"Ah. A vegetarian. Don't worry. I also have some veggies," Riza said as she mentally noted that she had to rework some of her dinner plans. Mainly, making more vegetable dishes than she had originally planned. "It should be done in an hour so make yourself at home in the meantime!"

Rei calmly walked to her room without a word.

As Riza saw her off, she turned her attention back to Roy. "I'm honestly surprised you even thought about taking her in. You don't exactly seem like the family type." She said in a near whisper tone in the hopes that Rei would not hear their conversation.

"Guess I'm still full of surprises." Roy smirked. "Besides, why bring this up now?"

Riza closed her eyes and huffed. "You mean like the fact you pretty much forced me into this? I thought you were joking until you handed me the papers. It was a little sudden after all." She took a deep breath. "But after seeing her, I'm starting to see why you did it. Not that I'll ever fully understand you."

Roy smirk widened. "Nothing wrong with being a little unpredictable now is there?" After fending off a glare from Riza, Roy's smirk dissipated. "So what do you think?"

Riza turned her attention back to the hallway that led to Rei's room. "She seems… apathetic." A dark thought intruded on her mind. "Don't tell me this is Nerv's way of creating the perfect pilot is it?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Roy replied. "That's what I thought at first too. Especially what she did to Shinji when he brought up his father, Commander Ikari."

"Why? What did she do," Riza asked as she raised an eyebrow at this new revelation.

"Slapped Shinji when he insulted his father, or should I say the Commander," Roy replied as he eyed the doorway.

Riza narrowed her eyes as this caused a slight readjustment to her initial assessment of Rei. "I guess she isn't a clean slate emotionally after all." She frowned as she thought of the reason for the outburst. "Though awfully convenient that she seems so loyal to the Commander isn't it?"

"Yes, convenient," Roy crossed his arms. "Though there are few things I don't understand. He readily abandon his own kid for someone more, malleable. But then he makes her live in a dump in an abandoned area of the city? Even with his own covert forces keeping an eye on her…" Roy eyed a nearby window. "Or the rest of us for that matter, you'd think he'd be more considerate in where she lives."

"Well wouldn't isolating her be part of her… training?" Riza nearly bit her tongue on the last word since, the idea of this being 'training', even to pilot a machine that was meant to save the world, appeared to be unnecessary and cruel. At the very least, inhumane.

"But then, why not just make her live at Nerv instead with 24/7 security? And if the goal is isolation from everyone else, why allow her to go to school if he just wanted her as a pilot free from contamination from other people," Roy questioned.

"And why would he even allowed some upstart alchemist who has no real authority in this world to take care of her," Riza added.

Roy smirked at Riza's assessment of him before nodding. "Yes. There is more to this than simply molding the perfect pilot. I just can't put my foot on it."

Riza sighed. "Well, we can't dwell on what we don't know," Riza said as she started to head towards the kitchen. "I'll make sure to give her the loving home she desperately deserves."

"Don't you mean we," Roy smirked.

Riza eyed Roy questioningly. "I'll do my part. You just make sure you don't screw it up."

Roy grinned before his thoughts returned to Rei. "What is it you're planning Commander Ikari?"

Misato and Shinji's Apartment

"Good morning Ikari," Kensuke, Touji, and Ed said in a semi-cheery unison when the sliding door opened to reveal Shinji. Ed made a wave as the two classmates in front of him when Touji and Kensuke peaked into Shinji's apartment.

"We're taking off now, Miss Misato," Kensuke and Touji cheerily said in unison.

"See you," Misato replied. A hand waved at them through one of the doorways.

Kensuke and Touji's eyes filled with tears as Shinji glared at them. Edward himself simply face palmed.

"Let's get going," Shinji said annoyed.

-Later…

Street in Front of Misato's and Shinji's Apartment

"You two realize she's like, thirty right," Edward said. He looked at a nearby tree instead of looking at Kensuke and Touji in front of him.

"A hot and seeeeeeeeeexy thirty year old," Touji grinned.

Kensuke sighed as he looked up into the sky. "Age has nothing to do with true beauty. And I'm sure she'll remain gorgeous for years to come!"

"Yeah whatever, enjoy lusting over some hag," Edward rolled his eyes.

Touji eyed Edward with suspicion, "Why, what's wrong with you? Any warm blooded male would agree she is smoking hot. I mean, she's just perfect! Her face, tits, her ass…"

"And I bet she's wild in bed too…" Kensuke said with a little drool hanging out of his mouth.

"I, I just think there are other things to focus on! That's all," Ed frowned as a slight blush appeared on his face. Even he could not deny that Misato's look was above average. Though he tried to his hardest not to think beyond her looks. "I mean we are in the middle of war here are we not?"

"And so we should spend all our waking hours reminding ourselves of that," Kensuke questioned. "It's not like we're on the front lines or anything…" He then realized who he was talking to. "Oh, um… barring Shinji of course."

"And even Shinji needs some R and R right? Gotta relieve some stress some way," Touji grinned as he lightly elbowed Shinji. "Right Shinji?"

"Oh, I… well, I agree…" Shinji tentative answered.

"I… I just don't see the big deal with it," Ed frowned.

Kensuke rubbed his chin. "Hmm. You don't suppose our one armed friend is infatuated with someone else instead?"

"Oooooh," Touji put an arm around Edward's neck. "So who are you looking at? Fuko in the next class over? What about Seto in class 2A? Or maybe you like the quiet ones like Ayanami?"

"Hmm. Maybe Ed is eying our class rep," Kensuke nudged Edward.

Touji frowned, "Uh… she is kind of plain looking." Touji quickly smiled. "Now don't hold back foreigner! You can tell us who you're looking at!"

"It's… it's not like that," Edward said defensively. "I'm not… looking at anyone!"

"Hmm. Maybe we're thinking the wrong locale. Maybe our European buddy left someone back at home," Kensuke grinned.

"Oooooooh. I see. I see. They have a lot of hot babes there too. I've seen plenty of pictures! Blond hair, big boobs…" Touji added.

"It's not that either!" Edward quickly panicked waving his hands in front of him. "Can, can we move on to another topic please?"

"Hmm. To be fair, he isn't the only one not to see Misato's charm," Kensuke gestured towards Shinji behind him.

"That's… that's because neither of you live with her," Shinji said. "Neither of you know what she's really like at home."

"Hmm. Yeah it could be that," Touji said nonchalantly. "Or maybe they're just both gay."

Kensuke nodded. "Yeah. That could be…"

"It's not that," Shinji and Edward exclaimed.

Nerv Headquarters - Ritsuko's Office

"So there is nothing else you can tell me about the application of alchemy," Ritsuko said to the muscled man in front of him.

"I… honestly didn't think about it before," Armstrong said as streams of tears coming down his face. "Even with all my years of training in my family's style, I never once considered where the energy to produce an alchemic reaction came from!"

"You really never thought about it?" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Given that alchemy is treated as a science where you came from, I thought you would be curious on the mechanics on how it actually worked. I told you before how to us, this alchemy could be readily confused as 'magic.'"

"Hmm. Well there was this one time when I was just a little tyke where my childish curiosity did ask where it all came from. Where the rule of equal exchange and the energy needed to produce this unwavering law of science came from."

"And what answer did they come up with?"

"Only god knows that answer," Armstrong raised his hands in defeat.

Ritsuko nearly slapped her forehead. Instead settling for a simple face palm. "So that's it? You people stop researching on that matter?"

Armstrong shook his head. "I didn't say that. I'm sure there are a few scientist in our world asking and researching that very question. It's just, not something the vast majority of Amestrians think about on a daily basis."

Ritsuko sighed. "I really shouldn't be surprised. With the absence of any concrete evidence, even people in this world do the same. What came before the Big Bang? Only God knows. I was just hoping someone deep in alchemy would have a bit more evidence to how that works than our still very limited understanding of the universe before the Big Bang. After all, how can you train in something you don't know anything about?"

"What do you mean we know nothing about it," Armstrong retorted. "I know plenty about my arts! The limits, what I can and cannot create or destroy, and the consequences in our actions. And while I can't say for certain where that energy came from, or how it's applied when we do alchemy, but we do have two theories about it."

"Yeah. I know both of them," Ritsuko nodded. "So your scientist came up with both. And are they sure it's either of these two?"

"Well I can't say our proud Amestrian scientist came up with both actually," Armstrong said scratching the back of his head. "The one about how the energy came from the movement of the earth and that we're simply tapping into that one? That actually came from the nation to Amestrice's far east, Xing."

"Xing?" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. Not sure how to explain it since they're not 'like us'," Armstrong said as he rubbed his chin. Suddenly, something clicked in his head. "Actually no. While I haven't exactly encountered a lot of their writings, the few times I have seen it, the more complicated symbols look like some of the ones on the signs here."

"Hmm," Ritsuko contemplated this revelation. "You mean the Kanji on our signs? Sounds like Xing is your version of our China here…" Ritsuko said to herself before speaking her next question. "Well go on, what else can you tell me about that nation?"

Armstrong shook his head. "Not much I'm afraid, there are rumors that the alchemy they use is much different than our own. But there is no way to verify it since all contact with Xing was severed after the Ishbal War."

"How unfortunate." Ritsuko slumped down in her chair as another potential door to her research is closed on her. "Guess there is no way to confirm or deny either theory." However, a nagging question began to surface for Ritsuko. "I always wondered, why do you even need to make transmutation circles to begin with. I know it's supposed to act as a kind of guide in your mind, but if you know what you want to deconstruct an item and then reconstruct an item into, than why would you even need a circle? It does not look like you even need to be constantly looking at them."

Armstrong thought about the question, "I guess it's due the fact that the transmutation circle acts as a kind of gateway to what an alchemist wants to accomplish. Like these!" Armstrong did a punching pose with his hand guards that showed off the alchemic transmutation circles on them. "These, combined with the Armstrong strength, could turn an ordinary chunk of rock into a dangerous bullet!" Armstrong would be sparkling if he had bothered to take off his jacket and exposed his manly chest. Though one thing Ritsuko had taught him during his stay, was restraint against doing just that.

"A gateway?" Ritsuko's head was raised. "I know Mustang's gloves have their alchemic symbols on his glove. But Edward Elric… he doesn't even need to make a circle right?"

"That is correct," Armstrong nodded affirmatively. "It's due to the forbidden arts that they practiced."

"Yes. The big no no in alchemy, Human Transmutation. But, by doing so, he somehow saw the truth correct?"

Armstrong nodded. "It's been said that people who have done the forbidden alchemy get to see the truth. However the price of seeing the truth is significant as you probably have seen with what those two boys had to suffer through. If you want to know more, you can always ask Second Lieutenant Mustang about it." Armstrong looked left and right and realized he was not there. "By the way, where is Mustang anyways? I haven't seen him all day."

"Gave him and Edward a few days off since we've been reassessing what we're going to do with the alchemist," Ritsuko stated.

Armstrong blinked confused since this was the first time he heard about it, "But not me?"

"I need at least one alchemist here to help me here," Ritsuko smirked. "Edward is still a kid even if he likes to pretend otherwise. I'm sure that extra time off will help him finish his schoolwork. As for Mustang, the extra time off gave him time to get Rei settled into his residence. Though I don't know think it would take long given how Rei isn't that 'high maintenance.'" Ritsuko raised from her chair. "Anyways Warrant Officer Armstrong, I think I took enough of your time today. You're dismissed."

"Yes ma'am," Armstrong saluted before tentatively lowering his arm. "Um, if I say, I'm sorry I haven't been more helpful in the endeavor to protecting this world."

"Oh, actually I think you've been very helpful." Ritsuko said as she turned her back against him. "Now if you excuse me, I have other business I need to attend."

"Yes ma'am." Armstrong saluted again before walking out.

After Armstrong left the office, Ritsuko walked to her office window and looked down at Nerv's staffs that were bustling about. "A gateway..."

-Later…

District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School Class 2-A

"They're such dorks," Hikari said as she glared at the boys all staring out of the window.

A screeching car was heard outside. This, along with Touji's outburst sent all the boys in the school rushing to the window. From the wolf whistles and the adulation that came from there, it was clear that some 'hot chick' must be walking towards their school. And from the chatter, that someone appeared to be the guardian of a certain student.

Though one boy was absent from that list. "Typical." Edward sat back in his chair and rolled his eyes. His attention instead, focused on the other pilot in the classroom. He looked at Rei who, appeared to have no interest in the actions of the majority of the boys in the room. While this could have been passed as simply normal female reaction to the simple minded fools on this day, for Rei, this disinterest ran much deeper than that.

Ed waved at Rei hoping to catch her attention. Seeing that Rei did not move from her gaze away from the boys, Ed decided to change tactics. "Eh hem. Um, Miss… Ayanami?"

This finally got Rei's attention. "Yes Mister Elric?"

"Umm… so, what do you think about living at Mustang and Hawkeye's place," Ed cheerily said to Rei. "Not… bad right? I know Mustang can be an ass sometimes but… um, I doubt he is to you right? Hehe…heh."

"Their accommodations are adequate," Rei replied.

"Adequate?" Edward blinked at her response. "Well they are better than your last place right?"

"It does not matter where I call my residence," Rei said. "But Second Lieutenant Mustang's residence is adequate."

"I guess," Edward said unsure what to say to that. It was clear Roy and Riza have their work cut out for them.

Edward heard a slap at the window. He saw Shinji leaning down into the window sill looking like he was the victim of the previously heard slap. With Touji and Kensuke standing next to him all proud looking.

Ed narrowed their eyes towards the two of them. However, from the looks of it, it appeared 'playful' so Ed held back.

Kensuke shot his head out the window as he saw a couple coming towards the school. "Huh? Those two look like foreigners."

"Two?" Edward peaked his interest after hearing that. "Oh yeah…"

Touji peered out of the window to look at the female one. "Hmm. Blond, nice sized chest… not bad. Doesn't hold a candle to Misato in the babe department but not bad."

Kensuke peered back at Edward. "Say, you don't think she's the one that Ed's been thinking about?"

Edward narrowed his eyes. "No it's not!"

"I'm just kidding shor… one arm," Kensuke waved at him. "So, are they here for your parent-teacher conference?"

"Um… actually, they're for Miss Ayanami's," Shinji replied behind them.

"Huh?" Touji and Kensuke looked out the window, and back to Rei. "How did that happen?" They said in unison.

"It's… a long story," Edward said.

"Oh yeah." Hikari said as realization struck her. "Does this mean your guardian coming Edward?"

"Gah!" Edward involuntary shivered. "N..n… nope! Armstrong… my guardian, had something to do at Nerv. So he can't make it."

"Hmm. That's too bad," Hikari said.

"Yeah… Really disappointed he couldn't make it." Edward sarcastically said. Images of Armstrong flexing his muscles and saying something like 'Tell me what my proud son has been doing in school' flashed in Edward's mind.

-Meanwhile…

Parking Lot District 13 Tokyo 3 Junior High School

"Isn't it a little soon to be having a parent-teacher conference for us," Riza questioned. "We just got her what, yesterday?"

"Apparently Nerv pulled some strings after they approved my request," Roy said as he straightened up his tie. He could feel Riza's glare behind him. "Hey, it wasn't like I thought it was a good idea to attend. This was Misato's idea remember? Besides we agreed that we'll try and jump into this with both feet on the ground? I'm actually wondering where you got these clothes."

Riza was dressed in a dark suit. Complete with a grey button up shirt, a black suit jacket, and a matching black skirt that reached to the upper part of her knees. "I was out shopping last weekend. There was a sale going on and decided to use our wardrobe funds for good use." Riza looked up and down Roy's outfit. "The sizes here are a little different than I'm used to back in Amestrice. So I wasn't sure if I got the right size for you."

"It's a little small," Roy said as he put a finger under his dark blue collar shirt in a futile attempt to give a little more wiggle room. "But I'll live."

"…guess I should have gotten a size smaller," Riza said under her breath.

"Oh hey!" A woman ahead of them waved at the two. "Nice to see that you two could make it!"

Roy waved back at her. "Oh hey Misato!" He said in a cheery voice. "Nice to…"

Riza whacked him in the head.

"Hey!" Roy felt the new bump on his head. "What was that for?"

"Just… keep moving," Riza growled.

-Later…

Roy's and Riza's Apartment

Still wearing their formal wear, Roy and Riza sat at the dining table eating a meal of steaks with mash potatoes, mix veggies, and an vegetable casserole. The latter she made specifically for Rei who sat quietly at the table. Rei stared at her new guardians, and one guest. That one guest being a certain loud mouthed neighbor that likes showing off his child's picture.

"So what did the school say about your lovely newly adopted daughter here," Hughes said grinning.

Roy eyed Riza wearily.

"Oh just the usual," Riza responded. "She gets good grades. Though they are concerned she doesn't socialize much with the other students."

"Hmm. That's it," Hughes asked sounding surprised. "Nothing about the class being disruptive by constant inquires about her activities at Nerv? Nothing?"

"From the looks of it, that's more of a concern with Shinji than Rei," Roy said. "It, looks like Shinji is the more approachable type."

"Not that the teacher would have noticed to be honest," Riza said. "He didn't seem to be that engaged. I'm surprised the school continues to allow him to teach."

Hughes looked at Rei who, having noticed that she was being watched, made eye contact back. "Um… well, I guess this is something a nice happy family should move forward and discuss together!"

Roy sighed. "Hughes…"

"Can I go to my room now," Rei quietly asked. Though it was loud enough to stop Roy in mid-thought.

"Uh… sure," Roy said slightly taken aback by her sudden response.

Rei pushed back, got out of her chair, and headed to her room.

"Um, Rei," Riza spoke up.

Rei stopped her advancement and looked back at Riza. "Yes Miss Hawkeye?"

"Um, can we talk… later?" Riza tentatively said.

"If that is what you wish," Rei replied.

"Good, so, before you go to bed. I'll be in your room. Is that okay?"

"If that is what you wish." Rei continued on her walk towards her room.

After she was gone, Hughes spoke up. "That was, interesting."

"Second night here and, I still don't know much about her," Riza said as she glanced at her plate in front of her picking at her food. "I was hoping that I could take her shopping this weekend. At least give her more clothes than just here school uniform."

"Except she usually has training on the weekend," Roy frowned. "And the number of times she has to go to Nerv for additional training right after school as well."

Riza slammed her fist onto the table, causing all the dishes on it to rattle. "Why even allow us to have her if they're just going to mock us with these 'training'?"

"I'm sure Nerv will allow her some free time. After all, they allow her to go to school right? Can't all be work and no play," Hughes gave a reassuring smile before it faded. "As bad as Shinji has had it with his father and all, I'm not sure Rei had it any better. I'm afraid what the 'other' pilot had to go through in all this." Hughes eyes lit up. "Oh that reminds me, heard a rumor that pilot from Germany is going to be coming over here in the next week or so."

"Are you sure you should be telling us this," Roy grinned.

"Since you might adopt her as well," Riza snidely remarked.

Roy frowned. "That's not what I…"

"Hey, it's just something I heard," Hughes interrupted seeing as the 'couple' was about to quarrel again. "Besides, shouldn't all the pilots be here? After all, it appears those 'Angels' only seem to be attacking this nation after all."

"I always wondered about that," Roy said as he sat back having finished his meal. "Why are they only attacking this nation?"

"Cuze it's the headquarters of Nerv," Hughes tentatively answered. Though Hughes's answer was more of a question than a statement. "But I see your point. It's like they're searching for something and only this city has it."

"Well, whatever the reason, I hope Nerv will get around to telling us." Roy crossed his arms. "I'm already weary of what they still consider to be 'classified' even for someone that supposedly works there like me."

"Oh, that brings me to my second bit of news," Hughes delightedly said as he raised a single finger into the air as if he was about to give a lecture. "And this one I can assure you is no rumor. And this time, not talking about Nerv. Apparently this nation wants to keep secret to the general public!"

"Every nation wants to keep a lot of things secret to the general public," Roy stated flatly. "It's the way governments are. What makes this any different?"

"You mean like how all the government and military personnel in this nation were invited to attend this event happening in what they call Old Tokyo," Hughes smirked. "If my sources are correct, Japan Heavy Chemical Industries will be testing a new type of Evangelion. Actually, I guess it's technically not an Evangelion. Just a really big machine. I think they called it Jet Alone. JA for short."

This peaked Roy's interest. "Event? Jet Alone? What are you talking about?"

"All the details are hush hush. At least that was their intent before the big coming out party tomorrow," Hughes grinned. "According to my sources, this Jet Alone machine is supposed to be a better alternative at protecting the world than allowing some kid to pilot those skyscraper tall machines. Don't know anything about the power source, but whatever it is, it's supposed to last a lot longer than the five minute limit for the Eva units we're used to."

"Hmm," A slight smile appeared on Riza's face. "And I assume that also means Shinji and Rei don't have to pilot anymore?"

"Yup. Apparently this new machine is totally automated." Hughes gave a big smile. He turned to Roy. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about the event till now. I thought at the very least it would have been discussed around Nerv headquarters since it appears Nerv has competition."

"I've… actually haven't been to Nerv headquarters for a few days," Roy stated. "Besides giving me time to help Rei adjust to her new living arrangements, Nerv has been reassessing our role after the last Angel attack. A pity since according to Armstrong, Commander Ikari is away again. Would have enjoyed that peace and quiet."

"Hmm. About that," Hughes's smile faded. "You would think that with the development of a machine that could aid in their fight against the Angels he would be there attending himself. Instead, he's meeting some important world leaders instead. After all, Nerv does have a massive budget that would make a small nation jealous."

"I'm wondering where you find these sources since all you're supposed to be is a mouthpiece for Nerv propaganda. Still…" Roy frowned. A part of him was hoping the development of this Jet Alone was a way out for Shinji and Rei from their role as pilots. However… "You don't suppose Commander Ikari is trying to stop development on this new machine?"

"Now why would you say that," Hughes said. "Sure if Japan Heavy Chemical Industries succeeds Nerv might be shut down. But I'm sure he's just away on unrelated business matters. I mean, JA's development has been funded with private money. They won't get public money unless it's shown to succeed. Nerv's business has nothing to do with the JA at all."

"Yeah. I'm sure that is," Roy frowned as he had a bad premonition about tomorrow.

-The Next Day…

Old Tokyo - Japan Heavy Chemical Industries (JHCI) Command Center

The ballroom was full of dignitaries listening to the JHCI director talk about the specifications of the JA. In the center of the room was a table reserved for Nerv. Unlike the other tables that were full of bottles and food, the Nerv table was sparsely populated in comparison. This was probably due to the fact that Nerv only sent two delegates to the event, Ritsuko and Misato. After the director talked about the specs, he asked the audience if they had any questions. Ritsuko raised her hand and barraged the director with questions.

"You're not saying that science and the human heart will tame the best," The director snidely remarked. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, of course I'm serious," Ritsuko, wearing a blue business suit, said using a microphone.

"Because Nerv depends on something as unreliable as the human heart, you're allowed a loss of control such as we just saw," The director continued. "That's why the UN had to approve that colossal supplementary budget. As a result, over 20,000 people in several countries are starving. On top of which, regardless of it having been such a critical incident, the causes are still unknown? I wish you would at least fulfill that much of your responsibilities! I envy you, Nerv is protected by a super-legal act that allows you to avoid responsibility."

"It doesn't matter what you say. The fact is that only Nerv's weapons have the ability to defeat the enemy," Ritsuko said.

"You mean the AT field," The director retorted. "That's just a matter of time as well. Nerv's day in the sun will not last forever."

Ritsuko twitched at the director's comment.

"Oh… and one more thing. Don't tell me you'll also have to rely on magic as well," the director said.

"Huh," Misato, wearing a black dress uniform, was chewing on a piece of straw. But what the director just said, Misato perked up. She opened her mouth allowing the straw to fall out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ritsuko said.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," The director grinned. "Alchemy? The ability to deconstruct and reconstruct objects using, what was it called, a transmutation circle? Yes, I heard all about. Strange that supposedly developed in Germany and yet they know nothing about it. Then again, maybe they're just better at keeping a tight lip about it."

Ritsuko gritted her teeth.

"Oh, nothing to say? Well don't worry. I'm a man of science," the director snidely remarked. "I'm not stupid. Whatever that Evangelion did, I'm sure even we'll find out its secret. And given what happened the last time it was 'used,'" an image of the last Eva battle was shown on screen. "We can obviously do better."

-Later…

JHCI Room 206

"But how did he even know about the AT field? No, not just that, how did he know about alchemy," Misato growled at the last question.

Ritsuko burned a packet containing the top secret material about the JA. "It's obvious there's been a huge leak of classified material."

Misato rolled her eyes in disgust. "Is intelligence that incompetent? A leak about the AT field is one thing. But alchemy? I thought Nerv could have at least kept that a secret! I mean how many of us even know about alchemy?"

"You mean like most of Nerv," Ritsuko smirked. Which only caused Misato to be even more incensed. "Oh I agree that Nerv needs to keep a better lid on information. But it isn't like it's not common knowledge within Nerv. Besides, at least they don't know where they really came from right?"

"Mmph," Misato looked away from Ritsuko to hide her annoyance. "Still, it's not going to be good for us if our doors are wide open."

"True," Ritsuko conceded. "There should be a serious shakeup in intelligence." Ritsuko sat back as she looked at herself in the mirror in front of her. "But if they think they can emulate an AT field and alchemy, they will fail. After all, if I'm correct, neither can be achieved without a living pilot."

"That's going to be their problem in the future," Misato crossed her arms. "But if they can impress a few people with their toy, they could become a huge distraction for Nerv."

"Oh, I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Ritsuko looked to the side.

-Meanwhile…

Tokyo 3 Street

"So you already knew about the true story about Second Impact," Shinji said amazed at Edward's statement.

"Yeah…" Edward said. "I thought you would be the first one to know?" Edward crossed his arms annoyed. "How does Nerv expect you to save the world if they continue to lie to you?" Edward formed a fist with his artificial arm as if ready to strike down anyone around him.

"Um… well…" Shinji shuffled his feet.

"Um, brother, I know Nerv isn't all good and all but…" Al said as he waved his arms in front of him. "I don't think they were purposely trying to deceive Shinji."

"I… I just never asked about it before," Shinji stated nervously. "And when I asked Ritsuko, she didn't hesitate in telling me everything."

Edward grumbled as he left his bias against Nerv subside. "Still…"

"Edward, Alphonse," A burly voice boomed behind them.

Edward shivered as he tentatively looked back. "Um, hi Armstrong." Edward tentatively waved.

Armstrong grabbed Edward and Al's neck with his two arms. "How many times have I told you…" Sparkles appeared around Armstrong. "To call me poppy?"

"I am never going to call you that," Edward screamed back.

"I'll just… keep calling you Armstrong… heheh…. If you don't mind me." Al said.

"I also have to apologize in advance for not attending the parent-teacher conference," Armstrong said as a single tear weld up. "If I didn't have to come into Nerv that day, I would have felt like I failed in my duty as your guardian! Maybe I should call your school and try to schedule a make up…"

"That's okay! You don't have to do that! Besides, I can guarantee you I'm doing well," Edward frantically said as he waved Armstrong away hoping to dissuade him from that line of thought. "I'll even get the teacher to write you a letter!"

"Well as long as you do well in school, I'm proud of you… son!" Armstrong flex his muscles as more tears weld up in his eyes.

"Please don't call me son," Edward weakly replied.

"Oh and Mister Shinji Ikari…" Armstrong said as he turned to Shinji. "I heard Misato is away on business today. If you want, you can come over to our residence tonight for dinner. I'm making my famous Armstrong stew! Passed down from generations!"

"Um, that's okay Mister Armstrong." Shinji smiled. "But I'm fine ordering delivery. Besides, I have to feed PenPen too."

"Huh? Misato is away today," Edward asked.

"Yeah. You didn't know," Shinji questioned. "Apparently Ritsuko is also away."

"She is," Edward was surprised by the second statement. "Then why is Rei still doing training?"

Now it was Shinji's turn to be surprised. "There was training today? I got a day off because both Misato and Ritsuko are away."

Edward crossed his arms as his bias against Nerv was reignited. "Why am I not surprised that Rei is the only on that needed to check in?"

Alphonse rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe she just needed some extra training? She was injured before right?"

Edward gave a weary eye to Alphonse. "You really believe that Al?"

Al hung his head. "Not really no."

Armstrong straightened up. "I share your skepticism Edward Elric but… I still remain hopeful that Nerv still has her best intentions at heart." He turned to Shinji. "Right Shinji?"

"Well, I, really don't know what to think actually," Shinji said. "But I… I guess you could say I've been seeing more of her. And not just at Nerv. So… maybe that's telling something?"

Edward sighed. "Yeah. She still goes to school and she still lives with Mustang and Hawkeye. Besides, if something really bad happens, I'm sure Mustang will raise a big stink about it."

"That's the spirit," Armstrong slapped Edward's back. "Let's look on the bright side for now. I'm sure Second Lieutenant Mustang and Hawkeye will raise her properly to be a beautiful happy teenager!"

"Uh… yeah," Edward said, snickering as he thought about what Hawkeye's reaction to it all. His thoughts then drifted to another matter. "By the way, you don't happen to know where Miss Katsuagi and Doctor Akagi went do you?"

"Hughes mentioned there was supposed to be an unveiling of a new weapon against the Angels. A potential 'Eva replacement' as he put it. Though I question where he got he information from," Armstrong responded.

Edward eyes widened. "You're kidding right? An Eva replacement?"

Shinji blinked. "What does that mean?"

"So, does that mean Shinji doesn't have to pilot," Alphonse said in a hopeful tone.

"I do not know," Armstrong said. "From what I gather from Hughes, it's only a demonstration. Even if it was successful, it might still be a while for it to ever be utilized."

"Yeah," Edward crossed his arms. "And even if…"

The sound of screeching tires reached their ears.

Edward turned his head at the black sedan that was now parked behind him. Shinji, Alphonse, and Armstrong followed suit and stared at the vehicle. Two men dressed in full business suits wearing dark sunglasses exited.

"Shinji Ikari. You need to come with us. It's an emergency," One of the suited man said.

"What? Is this an Angel attack," Edward said shocked.

The suited man shook his head. "No. But Shinji needs to be at Nerv right away by order of Captain Misato Kusanagi."

"Misato? Isn't she at that event? What happened," Edward questioned.

"That is up to your superior, Doctor Akagi, to divulge, Mister Elric," The suited man said. "Now Shinji Ikari, time is short."

"I'm going too," Edward yelled before he felt a strong hand on his shoulder holding him back.

"Edward," Armstrong sternly said. "And what will you do? This is Shinji's mission. Not yours. Doctor Akagi gave you the day off. Enjoy it with your other friends."

"But…"

"Don't worry brother," Alphonse said. "I think Shinji will be fine. Right Shinji?"

Shinji nodded as he entered the car. "I'll be fine." Once he was seated he waved back at the group with a smile.

One of the suited men shut the backseat door where Shinji was. He turned to the group and nodded before he entering the vehicle.

Edward's shocked face turned into a smile as he watched the car speed away. He turned to Armstrong and Alphonse. "He really has changed hasn't he?"

Armstrong nodded. "He is definitely more open. I hope we can say the same for Rei soon."

"I'm still concerned what that was all about," Alphonse said changing the subject. "Did something happen at that event?"

"I don't know. I just hope Shinji will be fine," Edward said as he looked up into the sky.

-Later…

In the Skies Over Old Tokyo

"JA is the target," Misato said. She, alone with Shinji were sitting across each other in the Eva carrier plane. "There's a danger of meltdown within five minutes. Therefore we cannot allow it to get any closer to a populated area."

Shinji gave a slight smile.

Misato cocked her head. "Something amusing Shinji?"

"Huh? AH…" Shinji frantically shook his head. "I didn't… I just… All I have to do is prevent it from moving forward right? Should I use alchemy to stop it?"

Misato smiled as she noted the change in Shinji from just a few weeks ago. She shook her head before responding. "Even if it wasn't currently forbidden for you to use until Ritsuko comes up with a solution, you know what happens when alchemy is used right? No. You need those full five minutes to restrain JA from entering a populated area. Got it?"

Shinji nodded. "Got it."

Misato continued. "But before you restrain JA, there is something I need you to do before that. Run alongside the target, and place me on its back. Then you need to restrain the target as best as you can. Got it?"

Shinji's eyes widened. "You're going inside?"

Misato smiled. "That's right."

"That's crazy!" Shinji was taken aback. "I mean, can't I just alchemize it away instead?"

Misato shook her head again. "Shinji, again, you're forbidden to use alchemy. And you don't even know how to do that with your skills. Besides, while this is crazy, I believe it will also work. Worse case scenario, Eva Unit 01's armor will survive both the explosion and the radiation."

"But what about you," Shinji said. "I… I'm ready for the danger. But…"

Misato smiled. "I'll just have to do my best. My conscious won't allow me otherwise." Misato sat back. "Don't look at me like that. If all goes as planned as it should, I'll be just fine. Throw a big party once this is over."

Shinji's mouth was still open in shock by what Misato was willing to do. He closed it as his resolved return and prepared for the mission. "Got it."

Misato smiled. She turned to the pilot. "Hyuga?"

-Later…

Ground in front of Jet Alone Unit

"Misato," Shinji ran down the deactivated Unit 01. Nerv personnel surrounded the area. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

Misato exited the flying unit that brought her from the top of the JA unit to the ground. "See? I told you I'm just fine! Though I need a nice cool bath now."

Shinji ran up to her and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're safe! For a while there, I thought it was almost over! It's a miracle what happened!"

"Hey! You don't have to go that far," Misato said as she blushed a little from Shinji's hug. "Besides, everything went the way I expected. Though maybe just a little bit too close…"

However, Misato's smile was fading. Not only did things not go as she expected, but she made a disturbing discovery. _The program was changed. This was all a setup._ Misato thought darkly. _And I don't like where this is going._

Shinji stopped hugging Misato. "Oh yeah! So about that party…"

"Oh," Misato said snapping out of her thoughts. She sighed. "Yeah about that Shinji, um… how about after I get my next paycheck?"

Roy and Riza's Apartment

Roy sat back in his chair as he scowled.

Riza kept looking at her watch as she walked back and forth in front of the door.

"She's not going to come any sooner by standing in front of the door you know," Roy said.

Riza frowned. "You could have gone to Nerv Headquarters to check up on her."

Roy eyed Riza. "I would, except I don't have clearance. Doctor Akagi promised me I'll get that clearance once she figures something out about using our alchemy."

Riza growled. She leaned back on the wall next to the entrance. "And when will that be?"

"Who knows," Roy said as he twiddled his thumbs. "Maybe when Nerv is back to full business given what happened today."

"Hmph," Riza lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I take it didn't go well today at that event?"

"According to Hughes, technical problems that can't easily be overcome. Too much of a danger to be used against the general public it seems," Roy stated. "So once again, Nerv is humanity's best hope in this world."

"And you believe that is what actually happened?"

"What do you think," Roy narrowed his eyes. "But what do I know? We don't even belong in this world anyways," Roy said cynically.

The sound of fumbling keys, and then a key being inserted into the door lock can be heard.

Riza stood straight up and moved in front of the door.

The door swung open and revealed Rei, standing in her schoolgirl uniform and holding her school bag.

Riza smiled. "Welcome home Rei!"

Rei Ayanami stood there for a moment staring at the smiling Riza.

After what seemed like an eternity to Riza, Rei began to move towards her bedroom.

"Rei!"

Rei Ayanami stopped, and looked back at Riza. "Yes Miss Hawkeye?"

"Um… how was your day," Riza tentatively said in as much of a cheery voice as she could muster.

"My day? I do not understand," Rei Ayanami questioned.

"Um, I mean, how did your day go? Did good things happened? Bad things happened? Did you go anywhere? Anything?"

"I went to school. I went to Nerv for training. And now I'm here at your residence."

"Uh… I mean, how do you feel about your day?"

"My feelings have been neutral."

Riza's smile became more contorted. "I… I see. Ummm…"

"Miss Hawkeye, if you are done, I'll be in my room."

"Umm… wait, I…" Riza reached out to Rei. "Um, I'd like to go shopping with you?"

"Why?"

"Uh, to help spruce up your wardrobe," Riza said. "I… I know you probably think having only a school uniform and underwear is enough but, I believe you should have more variety."

"If that is what you want," Rei responded in her monotone voice.

"It's not about what I want, it's… I, I just believe it would be nice for you to have plenty of things to wear. That's all."

Rei Ayanami stared at Riza.

Riza still felt uneasy looking into Rei's eyes. She knew that it would be difficult assessing Rei's feelings, but she still wanted to try. "I was wondering if we could go shopping together tomorrow."

"After school, I have training tomorrow. That last till ten," Rei answered. "I believe the stores close before that."

"…yes, they do," Riza said. "The next day?"

"I have training all week," Rei said.

"I see," Riza said dejected. "I guess I shouldn't take anymore of your time…"

"The next time I'm free is Sunday," Rei said. "Stores are open on Sunday are they not?"

Riza's eyes brightened. "Uh, yeah!" Riza gave a reluctant smile. "Be sure to wake up bright and early Sunday. We're going to be very busy!"

Roy gave a faint smile as he leaned back in chair.

Hughes's Boss's Office

"So, the incident in Old Tokyo was just a military training accident," the portly man said as he flipped through a copy of Hughes's article that was planned to be run the next day. "Nothing more?"

"That's the story," Hughes said. "Training accident that left the Japan Heavy Chemical Industries facility on site with minor damages. Luckily for the people attending, only minor injuries were reported."

The portly man grinned. "Sounds about right. I'll make sure all the major newspapers receive a copy."

"Yeah," Hughes said with a bit too much uncertainty.

"Hmm? What is it Mister Hughes," Hughes's boss looked up at him.

"Oh nothing, I just felt it's a bit coincidental that Nerv's budget happened to have gotten a nice increase on the same day this 'accident' happened," Hughes said offhandedly.

"Eh hem. We're a serious new agency here," Hughes's boss said. "If you want, I can have you write an editorial article. Or set up a blog for you to come up with your conspiracy theories."

"Oh no no no! I'm a serious journalist! Not here to give my opinion on anything," Hughes replied. "It's just the crazy musings of a journalist that's all!"

"Eh hem. Right. And don't you forget it," The portly man said. "I have enough fools wasting their times blogging about one thing or another. I'm still trying to figure out why we keep them on board."

"Yup," Hughes smiled. "Oh yeah. Have I showed you my…"

Hughes's boss interrupted. "I already approved your article. If you have nothing else to add, get out!"

"But…"

"She's cute. Now get out!" Hughes's boss glared at him.

Outside Hughes's Boss's Office

Hughes stretched as his work day finally came to an end. He walked out towards the elevator when a beeping sound came from his cellphone. He reached into his pocket and looked at the display screen. A new message appeared. "Hmph. And to think I thought Commander Ikari simply wanted to de-fund the competition." He placed the cellphone back into his pocket and pressed the elevator's down button. "What other cookie jars do you have your hands in, Commander Ikari."

Inside Hughes's Boss's Office

The portly man picked up the desk phone receiver and dialed a number. After a few second, he spoke. "Yes, he just left." Pause. "Nope. I don't think he really knows anything." Pause. "I don't think even his source knows anything. Only scratching the surface." Pause. "Nope. No idea who his source could be. Hell, I'm still wondering how he could have acquired one in such a short amount of time." Pause. "Whoever it is, he's definitely someone on the inside." Pause. "Yes. If he becomes a problem, I'll be sure to inform you." Hughes's boss hung up the phone.

Commander Ikari's Office

Ritsuko, along side a glasses wearing man in a business suit, stood in front of Gendo's desk.

"Recovering of Unit 01 is complete. No danger of radioactive contamination. Except for Captain Katsuagi's actions, everything went according to plan," Ritsuko said.

"Good work," Gendo said. "And the other matter?"

"Thanks to Warrant Officer Armstrong, I believe I have a better understanding of the mechanics of alchemy," Ritsuko said. "However, I won't know for certain until full scale tasting occurs. And given the arrival of the second child, such testing won't occur till after her arrival."

"Yes. And once the second child arrives?"

"We'll immediately begin testing to see if she has an affinity to alchemy. If she show signs that she can use it, I'll get Armstrong to immediately train her."

"For her sake, she better."

* * *

-End of Chapter 13

As you can see, I decided to skip most of the 'action' in that episode since, the way I planned it out, it'll be exactly the same as the series.

Now since I'm relatively following the original anime, that means a new pilot will be coming next chapter! I just… expected to have done that two-three years ago! But well, all I can say is things happen that I already mentioned.

One fic that is currently on indefinite hold at the moment is "The Unfortunate Life of Shinji Ikari". Thinking about it, I do find it hilarious in its own right, but I still can't believe that I made the 'tactical' decision of making very little changes in the early chapters. I know why I did it (I can point to, the original FMA anime as an example of small changes early, big changes later). But as a fanfic, it's really really bad choice. If I was going to do that, at least 'summarize' the events that haven't changed. Not only would that cut down on the story's length, since the first few chapters are basically a poor novelized version of the canon, but that would have at least made the story flow much better.

Another is "Hearts of the Valkyrie". But only because I had help with a much better writer on it. And… well, trying to mesh his style with mine? Not going so well. Sure it makes me want to get better to hopefully 'match' his style. But even great writers, there is a reason why you could tell a writer by its style. Trying to do that with this fic isn't going quite mesh.

For those that given up hope for Fallen Blade update, the 'good' news is that I did write some of it. The bad news? Not much. Still, at least I have a base to jump off from if I ever get that update going. Though I do have a fic that hasn't been updated even longer than this fic I hope to get around to.

Anyways, next chapter, Asuka arrived! How does she take to the alchemist? Until then, later!


End file.
